Teaching Darkness: Flux
by Rae Logan
Summary: Part 6 in the TD series! Something is wrong with Dark. Since the Earth was split into seven parts by Eggman, Dark, as well as other members of the populace, have been acting strangely at night. Meant to cross over with Sonic Unleashed.
1. Infection

Alright, lets get this thing started, right? ^^

Dunehazard at DA is the namer of this story this time. Flux. ^^

* * *

Mephiles jolted awake when he felt something brush lightly against his arm. Startled for a moment, he looked to his side shakily and saw that Tape was reaching up and batting at his arm with a paw. He sighed and then held his breath when he realized Dark wasn't where he normally slept now.

Sitting up in the same sort of panic a parent might if they found their child was not in bed, Mephiles scanned the living room with his eyes, twitching his ears to pick up any sounds that may help him find him. He thought he heard something in the kitchen...

Making his way to the doorway, he peered around the corner carefully, having now found Dark, who was simply opening doors and drawers, looking in them briefly, then closing them as if he didn't find what he wanted. Perplexed, Mephiles watched him while he observed his body language, noting to himself to be a bit sluggish and almost automatic, as if Dark wasn't thinking at all. Then he realized something:

_Oh... Maybe he's sleepwalking again..._

He remembered what Dr. Thizon had said when he mentioned Dark's somnambulism a couple of weeks previous: "It's best to just not try and wake him unless he is about to put himself in a dangerous situation. Simply try to guide him back to his bed. If you try to wake him, he may be disoriented and confused, and could possibly lash out without realizing who you are..."

_So I gotta get him back to his bed... without waking him. Easier said than done... _Mephiles sighed quietly. _I just know I'm going to wake him up by accident and get slapped..._

He held his breath and carefully reached for Dark's arm, cringing as he expected a clawed hand to find it's way upside his face.

Nothing happened, and he exhaled a sigh of relief.

With care, he gave Dark a bit of a tug to try and encourage him to head back to the living room, but Dark grunted disapprovingly, obviously not intending on stopping what he was doing.

"C'mon, Dark... you shouldn't be wandering around this late at night..." Mephiles tried coaxing him quietly. "You should be asleep... C'mon..."

Dark grumbled something, which Mephiles strained his ears to hear him more clearly, if he was pronouncing anything sayable at all, that is. It sounded like he stated that he was looking for something or someone.

"I can't hear you, Dark... maybe you should just go back to bed..." Mephiles tried again. "C'mon... I'm sure Tape is annoyed that you aren't there..."

Almost immediately at the sound of his pet's name, Dark's tired and half closed eyes flickered in recognition, and he nodded absentmindedly.

After Mephiles carefully led him back to the laid out blankets on the floor, the hedgehog then considered that it would be more polite to simply swap sleeping places with Dark, but decided against it when he realized that Dark would be highly confused once he _did _wake up in the morning and start asking questions. Mephiles eased him back to the ground and no sooner had Dark laid down did the shadow fall asleep completely. Mephiles sighed contentedly at a job well done, and Dark's eyes snapped open in annoyance, startling the hedgehog enough that he fell off the couch.

"_... Would you not do that? I hate being woken up before I'm ready..._" Dark growled at him, pulling the pillow over his head.

"... Uh... yeah... sh-sure... S-sorry..." Mephiles stuttered nervously, nodding quickly as he was astounded that _sighing_ had been the thing that woke up Dark, and none of what he had done earlier. "... I... uh... I'm just g-glad that what I dreamed d-didn't really happen..." He lied as he crawled back onto the couch.

Dark's uncovered ears perked up.

"_... Oh, really now..?_" His tone changed as he looked over the top of his pillow apologetically. "_... Well... Eh... Sorry for snapping at you..._"

"... N-no... I'm s-sorry... I should have been quieter..."

"_... Can't really help that..._" Dark tried hiding a yawn by burying his face under the pillow for a moment, though one could tell by the temporary impediment in his speech. "_... Want to... talk about it..?_" He said hesitantly as he sat up and slumped forward a bit as he carefully rubbed at his eyes, keeping the claws away from them. Mephiles could tell that Dark felt awkward at saying that, but was amused that Dark was trying. After all, Mephiles had done that with him a few times already.

"... Only if you'll tell me what's bothering you..." Mephiles allowed a small smile at him.

"_... There's nothing-_"

"Dark..." Mephiles dragged out accusingly as he tapped his head a few times with a "Hmm?"

Dark growled and looked away.

"_No fair... I can't even read _your _mind..._"

"It's not mind reading..." Mephiles shook his head.

"_Then how is it that you seem to know everything that passes through my mind?_"

"I can't read it. I read your emotions. Or, I feel them..." Mephiles explained.

"_And that whole business of being able to 'hear' me..?_" Dark said skeptically.

"That's just what I call it. When your brain is working... I have a direct link. It's like what you feel is being broadcasted to me." Mephiles explained as clearly as he could. "I've noticed recently... there's a big spot... it feels like... nothing... like it's empty... Sometimes, it's replaced with something else when you're doing something, like you forget about it... but when there's time to think... it comes back... I have theories... but I want you to tell me..."

Dark was silent, as if he was amazed at how close Mephiles guessed. Truth be told, there was many things that constantly bothered Dark silently, and he was partly relieved that Mephiles was able to pick up on this recent one so soon. It had been there since the day he had learned the fate of his driven insane twin, Iblis. About four days ago, to be precise.

"_... I'm sure that you remember that... well... I can See possible outcomes... correct..?_"

The hedgehog nodded slowly. "Sure... when you make decisions... right?"

"_... There have been a few exceptions over times... but mainly, yes..._" Dark stole a sideways glance at the three Chao that were sleeping at the foot of the couch, the girl resting her head on her twin's back as she hugged her friend. "_... But... there's one that's lingering in my mind that I can't get rid of..._"

"Is it a bad one..?" Mephiles gave him a concerned look.

"_... Not exactly... depends on how and what you'd look into as..._" Dark then looked at his cat, watching Tape crawl up beside him, rub his head on his side, then plop down with his back against Dark, purring contentedly.

"What's it about..?" Mephiles said in a tone the suggested to Dark that he didn't have to say it if he didn't want to.

Dark sighed.

"_... It's about me..._" He said slowly, as if deciding on how to word it. "_... And... Iblis..._"

Mephiles' wide eyes watched carefully, his ears perking forward and his entire body and senses alert as he waited to hear about the rest.

"_... I-it's really more like a borderline dream..._" Dark said in a softer voice, drooping his ears a little. "_... Because in it... he's not insane...and neither am I..._"

"Dark, you're not-" Mephiles started to protest but was cut short by his double.

"_And don't try saying that I'm not... and that I'm just 'sick' or 'hurt' or whatever term you want to use make me feel better._" Dark said sharply, glaring at him. "_... I've been aware of my instability for years now... I just never really cared to pay mind to it..._"

"... I'm sorry, Dark..." Mephiles said. "But I can't just up and call you mad... I... just can't..."

"_... Hmm... Have it your way..._" Dark almost smiled. "_But what I saw was rather a bizarre thought. We were still our base elements, having never been split apart... never been experimented on, or at least never corrupted. Existing in an intertwining-_" He locked his fingers together as he imitated a woven cloth to visualize his point. "_Relationship, as... brothers... happy... selfless... we were __different..._"

"... Oh, Dark..." Mephiles said sadly. "I'm sorry it didn't end up that way..."

"_No... No... Don't be... it's not the dream that got me..._" Dark waved a hand quickly with a flick or two of the wrist, as if shooing away the idea like a fly. "_It's when reality found it's way back to me. I realized that in order for that to exist..._" The usually constant growl in his voice dropped suddenly, revealing that his real voice, unaltered by his attempts was simply several tones below Mephiles'. "You wouldn't."

Mephiles wasn't sure if it was that fact, or the change in Dark's voice that caught him more by surprise.

Seeing his confusion, Dark elaborated with his usual voice back, growl and all.

"_... If I hadn't been split from Iblis... you would have died as a normal hedgehog however short years after..._"

"I'm well aware that my entire existence as a Mobian hinges on many factors that without any of them, I might as well have died a small creature..." Mephiles shrugged, already aware of this concept many times over. "You think _you're _a fluke... I exist because of accidents and twists in our future. I can bet you not many alternate realities have me, the Mobian me, that is... in it at all..."

"_... You are... quite unique._" Dark said slowly, biting down on his lower lip to stop himself from grinning at how he fails to overlook that he's not the only one screwed by time itself. "_... Either way, I'd exist in at least more than you..._"

"Do I sense a bit of uppity with you now?" Mephiles smiled. "Feel better, than?"

"_... A bit..._" Dark closed his eyes and shrugged. "_... Am I the only one who finds this planet having been split as a bit of a problem?_"

"Not really... but my instincts aren't going nuts, so I guess it's not too much of a problem..." Mephiles scratched an ear. "Why? Are you a little worried?"

Dark had wanted to so much to express how much he was disturbed by this fact. How he knew it was only a matter of time before reports started showing up of unusual happenings and strange things going on with the populace... and not just with mass panic. But something will start to twist... to change among them all. He wanted to say that he found this idea terrifying, as it seemed in context to be nearly identical as what had happened between him and his twin, but on a grander scale. How horrifying it was to him that he knew right down to the last detail that-

He inhaled slowly, taking a moment to think about it, and exhaled a "_... No... of course not..._" Then he added with a bit of an arrogant air and his well known smirk: "_I'm Dark, after all. Takes a lot more than a couple of earthquakes to freak me out..._"

Mephiles smiled, glad to see that Dark was acting like his usual self now.

"Hey, Dark... I'm just wondering..." He added. "What was up with that voice thing you just did ten minutes ago?"

"_Hmm?_" Dark pretended not to know what he was talking about.

"Y'know... when it lost it's growl... is that what you really sound like?"

"_... Technically speaking... being that I've talked like this most of my life..._" Dark gave a short laugh. "_This is what I really sound like... Now..._" He switched again. "Being that this is only a few shades from sounding like yours... I find it simply better to differentiate myself by-" He changed back "_Sounding like this. It's just how it goes. I've gotten so used to it, it's actually harder to use the other one..._"

He then got to his feet, explaining that he intended to get a glass of water, then go back to sleep.

However, he paused at the doorway, and felt something he hadn't felt for a month, which terrified him almost more than what he was keeping from Mephiles:

A migraine.

One hand gripped the door frame tightly as the other one slid across the side of his head and found the back of it. He shuddered and rested his head against the frame, his body telling him to simply curl up on the ground, his legs threatening to give out on him.

His mind swam in and out of focus dizzily as he tried to fight the feeling back. He was vaguely aware that Mephiles was talking to him frantically, trying to find out what was wrong.

"Dark?"

_Oh, god... make him shut up right now... _He groaned to himself, as it felt like Mephiles' voice was just making it worse.

"Dark, what's wrong?" There was an increase in tone, which made Dark wince.

_Haven't I already told him that talking makes it worse..?_

"Dark, say something!"

_You twit... I'm obviously in pain! _Dark let go of the frame and grabbed the back of his head with both hands, clenching his teeth tightly enough to get them near close to shattering them.

"Oh, man... oh geeze..." He heard the hedgehog mutter hysterically as Mephiles could do nothing more than place his hand on his double's back and rub it to let him know that he was trying to help. "Oh, geeze... Dark... please be alright..." He added in a desperate whisper.

The pain in Dark's head started to fade, and he blinked to clear his vision, realizing that he was on the ground, haunched over, sitting on his knees, fingers dangerously close to breaking skin as his realized a few of his quills had parted company with his scalp.

He lifted his head, and found himself face to face with a terrified Mephiles, who looked about three steps away from having a nervous breakdown after what had just happened.

There was a long silence before either of them spoke, and Dark, lightheaded and dizzy, braced himself for whatever Mephiles was going to say...

But he beat him to the first words anyway.

"_... I... I think I'm going to f-faint..._" He stammered weakly.

Which he did as soon as he finished speaking.

* * *

When he came to, he knew right away that he was still in the living room. He could tell because he realized that he was now on the couch. He was on his back, and there was a damp rag on his forehead. He opened his eyes slowly, frowning slightly. He panned his eyes to the side and found Mephiles sitting on the floor next to the couch, eyes focused on something other than Dark. His ears twitched and his head snapped up and swung to the side, immediately locking gazes with his double.

"Dr. Thizon, I think it worked!" Mephiles said, causing Dark to sit up quickly. Mephiles jumped up and pushed Dark back down. "No, Dark... don't get up! You got sick earlier, stay down."

"... _I... I didn't... I..._" Dark tried to make up something, but couldn't, so he switched tones. "_Why did you have to call him for?_" He pointed at the porcupine.

"What did you expect me to do?" Mephiles answered in a strained voice, fighting to hold down the agitated shady hedgehog, who kept trying to get up. "Shadow and Rouge are gone on a mission until at least Friday, and you fainted! You got a bad fever, and you were saying weird stuff for the past six hours!"

"_Wait... what?_" Dark stopped and stared at him in great confusion. "_H-how long? _What _was I doing?_"

"It's morning now..." Mephiles looked away from him with flattened ears. Dark could see that the poor hedgehog's had that look of lack of sleep. Dark folded his own ears back, feeling bad about that. Mephiles let go of him, and plopped back on the floor. "... After you said that you thought that you were going to faint, you started mumbling about some strange things not long after you hit the ground. I think the most unsettling part was how you just paused in between some of it and started laughing like you said something funny..."

"_... What did I say?_"

Mephiles looked at him for a moment before cracking a nervous smile.

"It really doesn't matter much now... you're doing much better." He said, closing his eyes. "Dr. Thizon gave you an antibiotic, so that should help..."

"_I'm not too sure that I follow..._" Dark said slowly, narrowing one eye.

"It would seem that we missed a small injury on the back of your head, under your quills..." Thizon explained, recording the information into a very thin folder labeled "Dark". "It hadn't cut into a vein, so we didn't find it on account of no blood... but it _did_ get infected. That would most likely be the cause of your fever, as well as a few other things..."

Dark was mute. He couldn't really recall any event that could have caused injury to the back of his head...

Other than...

When Iblis had tried to bash his head into the tree trunk just before Dark finally decided to fight back. He recalled feeling a bit of pain when his head hit the wood, so perhaps some jagged edges had cut into his skin.

"Because it wasn't bleeding and it wasn't too bad, I was able to help Dr. Thizon clean it." Mephiles sounded awfully proud of himself for being so important. "But... he did have to do the whole giving you the shot thing..." He then sounded a bit timid as he looked away, pulling at a quill.

"_... Shot? As in... needle piercing my skin..?_" Dark seemed a bit sickened by the idea.

"Well, how else are we supposed to get it in you?" Mephiles poked him, getting his hand slapped away. "Like I said... at least you're better now..."

"_Well.. since he's here..._" Dark gestured to Thizon as his cat hopped up on his stomach, keeping him on his back. "_Does that mean that I don't have to got for my weekend check up?_" He added hopefully.

Their laughter at him confirmed that he still had to. He sunk a bit in exasperation. He did _not _enjoy all those visits one bit. But at least was more or less civil about it. They even tempted him for the next one with the idea of getting a sucker for good behavior, which he had never heard of before and was nevertheless quite curious as to what it could be.

"How nice of Dr. Thizon to start a folder for you..." Mephiles said once the doctor had left, and he closed the door. "That way, we can get started on trying to keep that Shela lady away..."

"_Yeah... whatever..._" Dark had tried to sound grateful, but it didn't come out that way. Odd. "_How did we miss that, anyway?_"

"Like he said, it was under your quills... and it didn't bleed, and it was small..." Mephiles said, getting up and heading for the kitchen. "You look much better now, though. We've got some of that soup you made yesterday still left... y'know, the one with the tofu and kelp?"

"_Miso soup._" Dark clarified. Mephiles had found the recipe online recently in search of all sorts of vegetarian friendly ideas for Dark to have, and Dark was able to put it together... at least until they had to turn on the stove. Dark jumped back in fright as the fire turned on, so Mephiles, after assuring him that was normal, had to take over from there.

"Yeah, that... you want any? I'm quite sure you haven't eaten since eight last night..." Mephiles leaned out of the doorway to look at him. "I was thinking of getting some, too... it's actually better than I thought a soup with kelp would be..."

"_Told you vegetarian stuff was good..._" Dark smirked, nodding. "_Sure..._"

While they were eating, both sitting on the couch as they did so, Chao also with their own little bowls, Dark decided to ask him something.

"_... What exactly was I saying before I woke up..?_"

Mephiles swallowed his mouthful of soup and looked at him. Then he gave a short laugh.

"Well, you weren't feeling well, so I'm not going to take it seriously, because you were probably just babbling 'cause of your fever..."

"_But what was I talking about?_" Dark divided a piece of tofu that was too big with his spoon. "_You also said I was laughing about it too..._"

"Something about things changing..." Mephiles looked up at the ceiling, thinking hard about it. "That you knew something we all didn't... that world was going to-" He cut off quickly when he looked back at his brother. "Dark? All you alright?"

Dark's face had gone paler than normal as his eyes went wide. The pupils contracted to near pinpricks. His mouth hung open in shock.

"Dark? Should I call Dr. Thizon again?" Mephiles frowned in concern

The soup bowl slipped out of his shaking hands, bounced a bit when it hit the couch, then slid off onto the floor, spilling the rest of his food and spoon all over the carpet.

"Whoa, Dark! What's wrong?" Mephiles said, setting his own soup on the coffee table as he reached a hand to check for a fever, wondering that this strange behavior was probably because he hadn't broken it yet.

Dark's eyes gained a bit of focus and he slapped the hand away, shouting "_GET AWAY FROM ME!_" as he shoved Mephiles back and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door and locking it, leaning against it, and panting heavily, bringing a hand to his face and sliding to the ground slowly as he tried to compose himself.

No... it couldn't be... it _can't_ be happening to him, can it? He couldn't think of why he should be exempt, but...

"Dark?" He heard Mephiles' voice on the other side as the hedgehog knocked, sounding very concerned. "Hey, are you alright? You looked like you saw someone come back from the dead or something..."

Dark wanted to answer. He really did, but he couldn't think of something to justify his behavior.

He backed away from the door and gave a weak and quiet whimper before saying: "_... S-sorry... I think I just panicked..._"

"Are you alright now?"

Dark glanced sideways for no particular reason, and wished he hadn't.

He had seen himself in the mirror.

Something seemed... off.

He couldn't say what, exactly... but something just didn't look right to him.

It bugged him to no means. Made the back of his mind itch with perplexity. Anxiety. Worry...

He squeezed his eyes shut and lied: "_Y-yeah... just... eh... g-give me a moment... I'll come out..._"

"Are you sure?" Mephiles didn't sound fully convinced.

"_Uh, huh..._" Dark said slowly, unlocking the door clumsily and leaving the room. He didn't want to see himself in the mirror again. He didn't like how it made him feel.

"Gee, you don't look good..." Mephiles eyed him carefully. "Maybe you should rest for a while... you can have the couch, it's much better than the floor... which I think I oughtta clean up, by the way..." He looked back at the mess on the floor.

Dark nodded numbly.

Something still didn't feel right with him...

* * *

Just as a side note, I've waited roughly 2 years to put that bit about Dark's voice in the fics. XD

So, is this a good start? I feel like it's a tad lacking, but then again... all the stories were tough to start off. ^^;


	2. The Little Things Give You Away

Alright... I'm cutting my break short to add this. ^^;

* * *

That night was was just as bad.

Mephiles had awoke to the sound of Tape making loud calls, as if wanting him to see that something was wrong.

Again, Dark wasn't asleep on the floor.

Mephiles was wide awake in a matter of seconds, and jumped up from the couch to start looking for him, not finding him anywhere within the house that he could see. Feeling ridiculous for looking in even closets and under sinks, he started to feel a sense of panic rise up in him as his search got more and more desperate.

He passed the kitchen a second time, and stopped in the doorway, turning his head sharply to look over his shoulder when he realized he missed something in his frantic search.

The front door was slightly ajar...

_Oh, no... what if he wandered out and got hurt... or... _Mephiles gasped inaudibly and hurried across the room before he let himself finish that statement and pulled the door open, leaning outside while holding the frame to check the yard first.

To his relief, Dark was under the tree in the yard, sitting on the grass and with his back against the trunk, and looking as if he had just fallen asleep again.

_Oh, thank you... _Mephiles sighed to himself and forced a small smile, happy that Dark hadn't wandered too far. _I need to just make sure that everything's more secure and he shouldn't be able to leave the house while sleepwalking again..._

He walked over to Dark, who hardly stirred as he muttered something under his breath. Mephiles knelt down, realizing that he'd have to wake Dark up to get him back into the house, because Dark was probably going to wake up anyway if he tried to move him.

With a careful shake on his shoulder, Mephiles watched Dark's eyes snap wide open, the shade gasping in a mix of fear, confusion, shock and surprise as he scrambled back, looking around wildly.

"Dark! Calm down, please!" Mephiles said as he reached a hand for his twin's wrist to let him know that he was right there. Dark was obviously more than startled, panting heavily as he flopped onto this back and shivered, the adrenaline rush wearing off now.

"_... Wh... w-where am I?_" Dark whimpered in between breaths, still not realizing fully what had happened yet. "_... Th-this isn't... this isn't w-where I f-fell asleep... w-where am I... where a-am I..?_"

"Dark, listen to me..." Mephiles crawled to where he was and sat down next to him, waving a hand in front of his eyes to make sure he was looking at him.

"_... I don't know how I g-got here..._" Dark looked at him helplessly.

"Dark... it's okay... you were just sleepwalking..." Mephiles explained, placing a hand on Dark's chest to keep him down for a moment, because Dark was trying to get up. He noticed how fast Dark's heart was going and felt sorry for that. "Just stay down for a bit until you've calmed down... I know you must be pretty freaked out right now... It's okay..."

"_... I didn't fall asleep here..._" Dark said slowly, tilting his head to the side and seeing the door. "_... How d-did I get out here..?_"

"I dunno... but we'll just have to make sure it doesn't happen again..." The hedgehog tried to reassure him, taking one of Dark's arms and started pulling it over his shoulder to help him up. Dark, instead of attempting to get up to his own feet with Mephiles' help, brought his other arm up and clung to Mephiles, much to the hedgehog's surprise as Dark, who looked half asleep again, buried his face in his side, as if to hide it. The only thing Mephiles could think to do now was pat him on the back to help him calm down more. "Let's go back inside... it's kinda cold out..."

"_Uh... hnnn..._" Dark grunted and nodded, not totally aware of what was happening now.

_Looks like I'm gonna have to carry him back in... he doesn't look like he'll stand up..._ Mephiles mentally sighed and tried to stand up to bring him back in.

Dark's eyes flickered open again just slightly, and he muttered just after yawning: "_... Ask you something..?_"

"Sure, go ahead..." Mephiles got his footing and headed back to the house. "Ask me anything..."

"_... If something was wrong with me... really wrong..._" Dark said in a low voice as he lifted his head up a little and yawned again. "_... bad... and I couldn't do anything about it... you'd still want me... right..? As a brother..?_"

"What kinda question is _that?_" Mephiles was surprised and wondered where that came from. Maybe Dark was worried about something, and needed the reassurance of something simple, like that. "Well, of course!" He said as they got in the door. "How could you think otherwise considering what we went through? I promised!" He helped Dark back into his bed on the floor. "Where did all that come from? We're brothers... I'd never reject you..."

Dark looked up at him with a serious look, while still looking like he was half asleep. This sort of made Mephiles feel nervous.

"_... Things will change..._" Dark said softly, rolling onto his side and nuzzling his nose into the pillow. "_... We can't do much about it... out of our control..._" He yawned again, this time ending it with biting down on his lower lip, trying to stifle it. "_... some will have it worse... some are immune... but we're all doomed anyway..._"

Mephiles felt a chill slip down his spine. This was very similar to what Dark had been babbling about last night. The only real difference, though, was that Dark was not laughing like a mad thing like he had been the night previous.

He reached a hand to Dark's forehead to test for another fever, just to see if Dark had had a relapse from yesterday, and was startled to find none. So this was not another fever talking...

Dark's eyes fluttered open again, this time looking more clearly and he frowned when he saw Mephiles' hand was on his forehead.

"_... What are you doing?_" He said with much more clarity than he had said several minutes ago.

Mephiles jumped back in surprise and just stared. Dark looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"_Are you alright?_"

"Are _you _alright?" Mephiles shot back, startling Dark at the seriousness in his tone. "Making me worried when I don't find you here when I wake up in the middle of the night and found out you've gone out of the house, and-" He rattled off quickly before Dark cut him off.

"_Wait... _what?" Dark almost squeaked. What did Mephiles just say? Wandering out of the house? He didn't remember doing that. At all. Ever.

Mephiles stopped when he saw how unnerved Dark looked.

"You don't remember what just happened, do you?"

"_What! I dunno what you're talking about! What happened?_" Dark shouted, sitting up quickly and scooting back, sounding like he was several steps away from being hysterical.

_Here we go again... _Mephiles told himself.

"Dark, don't you remember waking up outside? You wandered out of the house when you were sleepwalking..." He asked, wondering if Dark had really been asleep up until just now. Dark shook his head quickly. Mephiles blinked. "You were freaking out because you didn't remember how you got there..."

Seeing Dark's confusion and apprehension, Mephiles paused then tried again.

"Oh, don't worry..." He said, reaching his hand out to Dark again, only to be slapped away. "Nothing happened... you just fell asleep against the tree. We just have to make sure that you won't be able to do that again. Make it harder to get out... that's all... no harm done..."

Dark's muzzle had darkened to a light shade of red as the shadow looked away in embarrassment and silence.

"Y'know... It makes it pretty hard to make you feel better when you don't talk..." Mephiles muttered, shaking his head slowly. Then he spoke louder. "Is... Is something bothering you again?"

There was a brief silence before Dark said: "_... More than you can imagine..._"

Mephiles blinked. He didn't quite expect that sort of answer.

"What do you mean? Can you tell me?"

Dark shook his head.

"Why not..?"

"... _Because I can't even explain it to myself..._"

Dark then grabbed the blanket and pulled it over his head as he flopped back on the floor, making quite clear with his body language that he wanted to be left alone.

Persistent as ever, Mephiles reached over and pulled it back, greeted with a greatly annoyed stare with a pair of bright green eyes and red sclera. Dark reach up and pulled it back over his face again, this time keeping a hand clamped to the top of it so Mephiles couldn't pull it back again.

"_... Leave me alone..._"

The way he said it was not exactly threatening, but all the same, Mephiles felt like he should comply.

* * *

The following morning, Dark seemed to not want to acknowledge the night before, seemingly and conveniently losing his hearing the moment Mephiles would try to bring it up.

Mephiles sighed exasperatedly as he listened to the radio that was playing softly, Dark having turned it down, deeming it a bit too loud for his ears, though it was hardly that loud at all.

_Shadow and Rouge won't be home until at least a couple more days. I wonder what's up with Dark? The last couple of days... he's... well... it's not... something is off..._

Mephiles watched the shadow carefully as Dark idly opened and closed doors in the kitchen, perhaps taking note of what was available and thinking about what he could do with them.

The hedgehog then inhaled sharply when for a second, something happened that caused his anxiety to raise ever so slightly...

_I... couldn't hear him for a moment... _

Mephiles stared with his mouth half open in shock, closing it quickly when Dark's ear twitched and the shadow looked over his shoulder at him.

"Uh..."

"... _How much rice do we have?_"

"Huh?"

"_Rice. How much?_"

"Oh... uh... there's that tub right there..." Mephiles got up and picked it up from the floor space storage in a large bucket with a lid. "I... I think that's a lot..."

"_It'll get bigger..._" Dark shrugged. "_How about vegetables? To go with it?_"

"We don't have much fresh ones... but there's a few cans of mixed..." Mephiles said, looking at Dark very intently.

"_... Could you not do that? Please..?_"

"... Is... Is everything alright, Dark?"

"_Dunno... you're the one who's been gawking at me like an idiot all day..._" Dark narrowed his eyes. "_I suppose I should ask you the very same..._"

"Me? _You've _been acting strange ever since the earthquake happened!" Mephiles snapped. "You tell me that I have nothing to worry about, but at the very same time, you act like something is worrying _you!_ Two nights in a row already you've been sleepwalking!"

Dark flinched and then glared at him.

"_You mean one night._" He said slowly. "_I only recall one._"

"It's two! The night before last..." Mephiles explained. "I lied. I said that I woke up because I had a bad dream, but it was really because I found you in the kitchen opening and closing things, and I led you back to bed." Dark folded his arms and frowned at him, tapping a foot impatiently. Mephiles tried to explain further as he scooted his chair back. "I only didn't tell you that you were up and around was because you always get so embarrassed and quiet when I do tell. I didn't think it was important..."

"_You're right... it's not..._" Dark said icily, turning back to what he had been doing.

The next few minutes were in silence, save for the radio, which had during the time switched to another song. Mephiles perked his sensitive ears to listen as a soft guitar and scattered beats tune made it's way to them. In a little over a minute, the soft voice for singing was finally heard, and Mephiles bit his tongue slightly as he listened. Some parts of it really stood out more.

_Don't want to reach for me, do you?_

_I mean nothing to you..._

_The little things give you away..._

_And now there will be no mistaking..._

_The levees are breaking..._

_All you've ever wanted_

_Was someone to truly look up to you_

_And six feet underwater_

_I... do..._

Mephiles exhaled a deep breath and lowered his head.

_Dark... you're so close... but at the same time, you feel so far away... please..._

"Dark... just let me know what's wrong..." He said this part out loud. He looked up slowly, seeing that Dark had tensed up as soon as he said that. "I promise... I won't laugh or whatever you're worried about... Really..."

He could have sworn that for a moment, he saw Dark's eyes look sad as the shadow stared not too far off from where the hedgehog was. His eyes shifted and looked at him, the sadness fading quickly as if hiding behind something, something more stern.

"_You wouldn't... you'd... you're better off not knowing..._" He shook his head and looked away again, measuring the rice into a pan with water. "_... Just... go... do something. As soon as I'm done here, I'll-_"

"Dark! I _know _something is wrong!" Mephiles cut across him, standing up from the table. "You _know _I know! How can I not? I just don't know wh-"

Mephiles stopped suddenly, having been halted by the glare Dark sent at him. Dark had his teeth clenched and bared slightly, eyes narrowed, one hand squeezed into a fist while the other pointed as his ears swiveled back and his quills and fur raised a good degree.

"_Go. Do. Something. Else._" He said with a dangerous tone, pointing outside of the room and with a way that made Mephiles not want to question him further.

* * *

"Uh, huh..." Mephiles nodded, switching the phone the other ear. "Alright... what should I say if he doesn't want to..? Uh, huh... He's kinda been-"

"_Who are you talking to?_"

Mephiles yelled in fright and jumped back, fumbling the phone. Dark was sitting on the arm of the couch, digging a finger into his ear to clear it. Mephiles blinked a few times... he was absolutely certain that Dark hadn't been there a few minutes ago.

"_I said... who are you talking to..?_" Dark opened an eye and looked at him intently. "_And for that matter... what about?_"

"Uh... D-Dr. Thizon was just calling." Mephiles put the phone back to his ear and stopped talking to Dark for a moment. "Hold on... he's right here... I should let him know..." And then looked back at Dark. "He said that if they missed that one infection... that maybe we should bring you back today to do another check over, just to be sure that nothing else was missed. That's all..."

"_I don't think so..._" Dark closed his eyes, folded his arms and stuck his nose in the air.

"We figured you'd say that..." Mephiles sighed. "So how about this? If you go... you don't have to on Saturday? Hmm?"

Dark's eyes opened in interest. He lowered his head and looked at Mephiles.

"_Really, now? That easy?_" Dark seemed very interested.

"Yeah. So, will you go?" Mephiles gave him that look. The one that Dark found hard to decline. Why? He could not say.

"_Oh, alright... but _only _if I don't have to go on Saturday..._"

Mephiles eyes lit up and he smiled before going back to talking on the phone.

"He said yes." He chimed excitedly. "So, when should we be there? Uh, huh. Yeah. Thank you." He looked back at Dark as he hung up. "He says that probably in the next hour."

"_But... it's bright outside..._" Dark's eyes went wide, looking at the closed window blinds, which allowed a few cracks of light through. "_Later. We should go later._"

"No. We gotta go when they say, or you'll have to go on the weekend too." Mephiles shook his head. "Besides, as long as we use those sunglasses... your eyes will be fine..."

"_The sun burns my skin too..._"

"Well, that could be because you hardly like to go outside." Mephiles reasoned with an annoyed stare. "Your skin isn't used to the UV rays. Y'know... you actually can get good stuff from the right sun exposure. You need it. Really..."

"_But... hot..._" Dark gave yet another feeble argument about the sun.

"Not really. The temperature is in the seventies right now. That's not bad at all."

"_But..._"

"Daaaaark." Mephiles dragged out. "C'mon... I just want to be sure there's nothing else to worry about. You almost died when..." The hedgehog faded a bit on the last sentence and looked away with a groan, letting his ears droop to illustrate what he was trying to convey.

Again... Dark couldn't say "no" now.

He sighed ans lowered his head.

"_Okay... fine..._"

Mephiles' ears sprung up again and he grinned.

"Well, then! Let's go already!" He grabbed Dark's wrist and started to pull him out the door.

"_GLASSES! GLASSES!_" Dark screamed frantically, grabbing the bookcase and trying to anchor himself there.

"Oh... right... s-sorry.." Mephiles laughed nervously as he let go of him and left to go find them.

* * *

I don't think this is my best, but it'll be a couple of chapters before everything is set up. ^^;

Shadow and Rouge should return in the next couple of chapters, by the way.

Oh, and that song snippet was from Linkin Park. "The Little Things Give You Away" from Minutes to Midnight. I'm kinda excited about the new album coming out next month. I have one of the singles downloaded, and daaaaaaaaang. It's good! ^^

Anyway... this is the new chapter. ^^;


	3. Turn For The Worst

Update time! This one is coming faster, since I have so much planned already for this one. Here, it starts to pick up. ^^

* * *

"_No..._"

"But-"

"_I said no..._" Dark was being stubborn now. He dropped himself to the floor and folded his arms. He intended to let himself be a dead weight and not go an inch further.

He had agreed to having an early checkup, yes... but he did not once agree that he was going to allow for an MRI.

"_I will not allow it. You just want to-_"

"Dark! This is the best way to check for anything internally!" Mephiles tried to reason. "Even things you can't even feel. We're just-"

"_Oh, I know just what's going to happen. You'll see just how much of my brain is in use, then deem it a medical marvel and then try to keep me here!_" Dark glared, trying to scare everyone back.

To be quite honest, that was _not _what Dark thought at all. He just assumed they would think that. He was just running with it because he didn't want to address something that he found to be a bit of a problem to him.

Did you know that Dark was actually claustrophobic to some degree? The decade in the Scepter of Darkness had steadily added to his unease of enclosed areas that gave trapped feelings. Dark did not want to be in a a enclosed space that emitted loud sounds and seemed just too bright for his liking (although, it seemed that _everything _ was too bright for him...).

"That's not gonna happen..." Mephiles said before turning to Thizon and adding an unsure: "I-Is it?"

_I don't get paid enough for this job..._ Thizon sighed mentally before shaking his head.

"See, Dark? He says that's not going to happen..." Mephiles said, grabbing one of Dark's arms to pull him to his feet.

Then it happened.

Dark's eyes shot wide open as soon as Mephiles touched his arm. The hedgehog saw a rush of panic flash behind the shadow's eyes, and before he could respond... Dark's teeth clamped down on his arm. Tightly.

The hedgehog cried out in pain, trying to pry his twin off before the teeth broke the skin.

"Hey! Let go! That hurts! Ow! Ah!"

The first effective way he could think of to get Dark to let go seemed to be too drastic, as it would involve having to fight back, but Mephiles didn't want to hurt him. The next way seemed to be not guaranteed a success, which would be to lodge something under his teeth and pry him off, but that could fail too. The next...

Oh, forget trying to think... this really hurts!

Had Mephiles been thinking more clearly, he might have considered melting into his shadow form to free himself, but the pain from that bite was clouding his better judgment.

He wasn't sure how long had passed, but he finally felt Dark teeth loosen and get pulled back. He looked at his arm and saw that Dark had actually drawn blood when his teeth had punctured the skin on the hedgehog's arm, which would mean that Mephiles would have to get some minor medical care to make sure he didn't get an infection.

But he was more concerned for Dark, who was now spitting out fur and blood from his mouth, looking quite a bit disgusted. Dark also looked unsteady, as if he was on the verge of passing out.

"What's-"

"He's only been sedated..." Thizon explain, as Mephiles noticed the nurse who had an empty syringe in her hands. He started to look at the hedgehog's arm. "Let's have a look at that bite..."

"... Dark never bitten me before..." Mephiles said slowly, ignoring that his arm was being examined as he eyed Dark with an anxious stare. "Well, I mean there was that one time... but that was because he panicked. And he only bit my hand... so it didn't really count..."

"Silvia, can you find some disinfectant and the gauze?" Thizon addressed the white cat, who nodded and left quickly. He looked back at Mephiles. "While she's doing that, why don't we help him up onto here..." He gestured to the cushioned examination table. "Until he's a little more alert and patient?"

"... I... I dunno why he's being like this..." Mephiles tried to apologize, looking at his arm as he squeezed a hand over the wound, knowing that he wouldn't be able to heal all of it right at that moment. "He said that he'd agree to the check up... but... I... I-I'm sorry... I don't know what's gotten into him lately..."

"How long has this been going on?" Thizon took out his pen light and tested Dark's reaction to light. Dark's eyes shifted a bit, but the sedative was not allowing him to be as rash as usual. "Hmmmm, starting to regain focus... that drug should wear off within the hour..."

"That wasn't very long..."

"We didn't use that much..." Thizon put his pen light away as Dark glared at him slightly. "Now... how long has this been going on?"

"Uh... I think... let's see..." Mephiles thought for a moment, looking up at the ceiling. "Well, he's sleptwalk... eh... sleepwalked... oh... you know... for two days now..." Mephiles looked back at them. "But.. he's been acting odd for at lease the whole week so far... about the time when the egg human guy split the planet..."

"Only at night?" Thizon asked suddenly.

"Y-yeah... how'd you know?" Mephiles' ears perked up in surprise.

"Because he's not the first..." Thizon sighed carefully and removed his glasses to wipe a few specks off them. "All this week, we've been getting patients and reports of people acting strangely at night. Doing and saying things they wouldn't normal do, and doing so quite frequently. It's getting to be an epidemic... as if everyone who has it have lost their minds. Then, when the sun comes up, it's like it never happened..."

"What's causing it?" Mephiles' eyes went wide. "Is it a virus or something? Is it's contagious? Do you think Dark has that?"

"As far as anyone can tell, it's not even medical related. If that's the case, it's out of my expertise..."

"If it's not medical, then what is it? What's wrong with everyone?"

"None of us know."

Mephiles looked at Dark anxiously. What if Dark was one of the many people who had been "infected" with this strange "virus"? How would he know? If he was, how could they cure him? What if-?

His head was suddenly filled with so many what ifs that his brain was starting to hurt. Why was he getting so worked up already? They hadn't even confirmed that Dark even had this disease. He could just have the flu for all they knew, and was acting weird just to hide it... yeah... like cats do...

But... what if it not the flu..?

_Here I go again..._ Mephiles facepalmed mentally. _We haven't even decided if something is even really wrong with him. He could just be sulking, for all I know... that would explain why he's so irritable lately... _

Finally, Silvia returned with the disinfectant and the bandages, and Mephiles' bite wound was tended to. His left arm was dabbed with peroxide (which he was very good about not freaking out over the well know stinging sensation and bubbling reaction.), and wrapped to keep it from getting dirt and debris in the marks until they healed.

Dark was starting to be more aware again, and almost couldn't hide how appalled he was at himself for chewing on Mephiles' arm like that. He directed his attention to the ground and kept his head low so that his face could not be seen clearly. He did not want to make eye contact.

Dark was more or less cooperative during the rest of the examination. He complied quite listlessly, however, hardly making much sound as he adopted that sad and tired look on his face again. Thizon then dismissed his episode of bizarre behavior as a result of a mood swing because of his bipolarity, as he seemed to be exhibiting signs of depression now in stark contrast to his hostility earlier.

"Being that I still have no clear idea how the physiology of the two of you work..." The porcupine made a few notes in the thin folder. "I cannot feel certain to prescribe anything. However... I'm sure he'll recover quite fine. This should only be temporary..."

"That's all? A mood swing?" Mephiles looked so relieved. "He's just depressed and not infected with that bad thing?" He looked like he could have hugged _anyone_. In fact, he tried to do so with Dark, but the shadow merely grunted, reaching a hand up to pry him away forcefully, not once lifting his eyes to look at him. Mephiles' ears drooped again as Dark folded his arms and kept his head low.

On the way home, Dark still hadn't said anything, but it seemed as if a cloud of gloom was hovering around and over him, as Mephiles could feel an uncomfortable vibe coming from him.

When he tried to question Dark, however, the shadowy hedgehog suddenly snapped.

"_BACK OFF!_" He barked in almost an ordering kind of voice as he shoved the hedgehog to the ground, then spun around to run.

Mephiles looked up from the ground in shock, having landed on his back, and sat up to see where Dark was going. He quickly got to his feet and tried to catch up to him, having to work a bit harder since he wasn't as near to as fast Dark was (he hadn't been lying when he mentioned how fast he was when Mephiles, Rouge and Shadow had to catch that nutty rabbit!). He finally was close enough to grab his hand so that he could swing his other hand up to grab his arm and try to get him to stop.

"_Let me go... or I'll snap your neck and leave you in that alley..._" Dark growled threateningly.

"No, you wouldn't..." Mephiles looked at him innocently. "You're just saying that to make me let go... which I'm not until I know you won't run away again, and when you tell me what's wrong..."

"_It doesn't concern you..._"

"But it's making me concerned..." Mephiles brought his hand that was on Dark's up to the shadow's arm now to get a better hold. "Dr. Thizon said you're depressed right now... I want to know what's causing it... what's making you so sad?"

_He doesn't even realize that's not the half of it... _Dark frowned and clenched his teeth. _There's too much going on to even pinpoint what goes with what... persistent as ever, though..._

"Dark? Please, I know something is wrong... tell me..."

"_Telling you won't make it go away..._"

"Maybe not, but maybe it'll ease some of it?"

"_You're such a child..._"

"I'm only ten... or is it eleven? I can't tell... we never really had a birthday for me..."Mephiles was suddenly distracted with such a trivial thing. "Not like I can remember the real day I was born on, that is... I guess that I'd have to pick the day we met as it... huh..."

Dark's eyes flashed dangerously.

"_No._" He said coolly. "_You can't have that day..._"

"Why not?"

"_After what I did to you? After what happened that day?_" Dark narrowed his eyes slowly. "_What is there on that day that is worth celebrating..?_"

"Well, that's the moment you were given some kind of form on this planet... in a sense, you were born... and that makes it your birthday..." Mephiles blinked and continued to look at him innocently. "Everyone needs a birthday, right?"

"_Yeah... everyone except me..._" Before Mephiles could protest, he continued as he jerked his arm free from Mephiles' two handed grasp. "_You do realize how many died at that moment, right? And those who didn't, died shortly there after..._"

Mephiles blinked.

True. He had a point.

"But that was a long time ago." Mephiles reasoned. "I know it was bad, and it can't be fixed... but that's just it. It was a long time ago, and we can't change it. But almost everyone seemed to have moved on now..."

"_You're ignoring the fact that all of Soleanna would rather pitch us into a lake while watching us flounder about, and listen to our cries for help than even let us breathe their air..._"

"Okay... point taken... B-but what about Shadow? He's doing better!"

"_He likes _you..._ he'd rather cuddle a large and venomous centipede then even acknowledge I'm here..._"

"You're being difficult again..." Mephiles groaned. "And that's not really true. I'll have you know how much he helped out both those times when Iblis slashed your side, and when you where thrown down the stairs..."

At the very mention of those incidents, Dark visibly shuddered and absentmindedly grasped his left shoulder, but quickly made it look like he was brushing it off once he caught himself. Truth was, he had felt it twinge, perhaps as a reminder of what had happened to it.

"_Do not speak of that!_" Dark whispered furiously. "_The sooner we all forget of it... the... the better..._" He faltered on the end of the sentence. He cursed himself mentally.

Mephiles looked at him carefully, tilting his head as he studied every inch of him.

"..." He was silent as he bit his lower lip slightly, thinking about this carefully. Finally, he spoke up. "... You... really don't want to forget him... do you..?"

There was nothing Dark could do to hide that flinch. Everything about Dark went tense. His quills and fur raised a few degrees as they stood on end. Then he looked livid.

"_Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!_" Dark screamed in rising tones, clenching his fists and punching the hedgehog. Mephiles yelped and clutched his arm, gritting his teeth in pain as he was shoved to the ground again. He looked up just in time to see Dark disappear in a swirl of purple and black energy, taking to his base form and warping out of there.

Mephiles did not know where to find him, and could only hope he had headed back to the house. It was dark out now, with only streetlights illuminating the sidewalks and roads, and Mephiles shivered, not liking to be out by himself when the sun was gone, and only the moon was out. He looked up, wondering why he never saw the moon full around here. It seemed to always be a crescent, and upon closer look, he could swear that it looked like a huge chunk was blasted out of it.

_I'll ask Shadow about that when he gets home..._ He concluded as he picked himself off the ground and headed home quickly, staying under the lights of the street lamps.

He didn't want to be out here if anyone was getting infected with this perplexing "disease". If people where acting strangely, he didn't want to see how. He just wanted to go home and turn on all the lights, hug his Chao, and maybe start up a cup of coffee to fight off that shiver that had settled down his spine as he tried to figure out what was Dark's problem.

_I hope he just went home... _Mephiles wished desperately.

* * *

But sadly, Dark was nowhere to be found.

Feeling that rush of panic again, Mephiles nearly tore the house apart looking for him. He called his name, once or twice telling him that this wasn't funny and all that, trying to coax him out wherever he might have been hiding.

Mephiles tried to listen for him with his ears, his heart and his mind, trying to read and find him, realizing to his growing horror that Dark was not even in the house, or in the neighborhood for that matter.

One could hear the long scream of realization a mile away as the nesting birds in the trees that had already turned in for the night awoke with a start and took to the air.

* * *

Dark's ears twitched as he caught it just about one foot shy of a mile. Five thousand, two hundred and seventy nine feet and six inches to be more precise. He had counted.

He sighed, lowering his head to rest on his knees, which he had drawn up to his chest. He knew that he had acted irrational, and it was unnecessary to have struck Mephiles like that, but he couldn't help it. He didn't know why, but he had done it before he could keep himself in check...

And, of course, he had bitten the poor hedgehog when he had only been trying to help.

"_... What's wrong with me..?_" He muttered, wanting nothing more than to curl up and disappear. Not like many would notice anyway...

His ears twitched again, and he lifted his head to see what he had heard. He shrank against the wall of the alley to hide in the shadows that felt so welcoming to him. Staying in the dark, he peered around the corner and bit his tongue, literally.

There was a large, shaggy, blue creature. And by large, he meant muscular. This thing was about as tall as your average Mobian hedgehog, but he only looked somewhat like a hedgehog. Almost ninety percent of it seemed covered in thick, coarse dark blue fur, with it's hands and muzzle had what seemed to be a thin coating of light blue fuzz, almost the same color as Dark and Mephiles' crystals. Instead of crystals, however, this creature seemed to be all organic, and sported some thick looking claws. Not claws... more like talons.

Dark flinched and shrank back, trying to stay as hidden as possible as he observed this beast.

There was a hint of something familiar about it. Like he had seen him before, just not like this. The shoes seemed familiar. It had green eyes, though it's eyes where angled in a glare not unlike Shadow's or his own.

Dark narrowed his eyes to focus more on this.

If anything... this looked like a lovechild between a hedgehog and a wolf. A werewolf.

Dark's mind blew a raspberry at him. That was ridiculous. Werewolves existed in only monster movies and folklore. This was just some hairy hedgehog in need of a stylist. That's all.

And accompanying this thing was probably the most bizarre and cute little imp Dark had ever heard of. A cross between a chihuahua and a fairy, it seemed. Mauve colored with big yellow eyes, tiny green wings, a puffy white pom-pom tail, a mohawk of white hair, white paw markings to look like gloves and socks and a head bigger than it's body. It seemed to be content with hovering shoulder level to this creature that could easily swallow him in one bite. So maybe this savage hedgehog was friendly?

Then Dark heard exactly who this creature was, and simply looked at them in shock as neither of them saw him.

"Wow! Sonic! Look! Look!" The fairy dog pressed himself against the window of the store. "They sell up to _five scoops _of sherbet to _one cone!_" He seemed to be drooling as his eyes were fixed on what he wanted.

"You already had something an hour ago..." "Sonic" had a big hand to his face. "Don't you ever get full?"

"What's that?"

Dark didn't bother to hear the rest of it. He stumbled back further into the alley, his mind reeling.

This was that blue hedgehog? What happened to him? Was this what that evil energy could do to people? Make them into visible monsters?

Dark's mind greeted him with a rather strange image of what _he _would look like as one of those... hedgewolves... that seemed to be the right word to call it. Dark's eye twitched as he tensed and held back a strangled and silent cry of fright and disgust.

Yes, he had admitted to acting like a monster many times before...

But he would never intend to _look _like one. After all... he _was _a vegetarian.

_With _those _teeth? _His mind shot back as Dark's tongue brushed against his sharp canines. He hated those teeth. He really did.

That settled it. He wasn't going back to Mephiles... at least until this whole deal with the darkness and monsters and junk was over. He didn't want to endanger him any further...

Dark then inhaled and sighed deeply.

At that moment... he felt incredibly lonely and helpless. This was one of the worst things he ever felt.

* * *

Alright, Werehog and Chip's first sighting in any of my fics. I have waited a long time for a chance to get these guys in. ^^

The real trick is writing this story so it doesn't burn a plot hole into Unleashed. I have a few tricks, though, so we should be alright. ^^

Looks like Dark's get keep acting worse and worse, now. O_O


	4. Emotions

New chapter! Yay!

* * *

When Shadow and Rouge arrived home the next morning, they were very surprised to find the house a total mess from Mephiles' frantic searching of Dark.

His head popped up from behind the couch, and the poor hedgehog looked as if he did not sleep at all. The Chao each emerged from various piles of items as Tape's tail was seen waving from a particularly large one, his cry muffled beneath them.

"Oh, thank God, you're home!" Mephiles exclaimed, tripping over the pile of cushions, then scrambling back up to make his way over to his shocked friends. "Dark disappeared last night, and I haven't heard from him since. He's not in the house, or in the neighborhood. I can't hear him _anywhere!_"

He could have sworn he saw Shadow's eyes light up, and he felt the strong urge to punch him for that.

"Well, that would explain the mess..." The hybrid hedgehog commented lowly then spoke more clearly. "So... you think he ran away, or something..?"

"I don't know what's wrong with him!" Mephiles groaned then started to explain in rapid succession. "He got sick earlier this week, like, real sick, and Dr. Thizon fixed him, and then he was sleepwalking... no wait, he also did that earlier, but anyway, we had to take a trip to the hospital and have him checked out and they said it was just because he was depressed and then when we walked home, I tried to talk with him and he got really hostile and he ran off and I haven't seen him since!"

"What happened to your arm?" Shadow gestured to the wrapped appendage in question as he and Rouge set their things down among the mess.

"Before you get all mad at him..." Mephiles wanted to make sure the circumstances where understood. "He's not feeling right, and he seemed to have a panic attack when we suggested that he might have to get an MRI scan..." Mephiles gripped his arm. "It's not his fault... he seemed really upset when he realized he did that..." He himself seemed really upset. "What are we going to to? He's not well, and he's out there all by himself... And people... I heard that people have been acting strangely at night... and I think Dark might be one of those poor people..."

"How did you hear about that?" Shadow looked at him oddly. "I didn't think it went to the media yet..."

"Wait... _you know?_" Mephiles looked back at him. "What do you mean, 'went to the media'?"

"That's what we were investigating..." Rouge finally spoke up, having not said anything as the two hedgehog boys exchanged words. "It's not just Westopolis... everywhere seems to be affected."

"Just what is this? Is it a virus or not?" Mephiles looked at them with great interest.

"Our findings have narrowed it down to..." Rouge paused, trying to word it right.

Shadow huffed and just went ahead.

"It's nocturnal possessions, simply put." Rouge gave him a sharp look. "What? No reason to lie to the boy... he already figured out most of it, to begin with." Shadow waved his arms in the air, looking quite ridiculous. "Now..." He looked back at Mephiles, letting his arms drop to his side. "You said he got 'real sick'... explain."

Mephiles told them about how Dark had been sleepwalking, and had seemed otherwise fine until he had experienced a sudden headache and fainted after running a high fever shortly after waking up. Then how for the rest of the night, he was babbling and giggling about some oncoming doom thing or whatever that just really unnerved Mephiles.

"He didn't remember any of that after he woke up..." Mephiles said, eyes giving away how anxious he was as he sat on the dismantled couch. "When I told him about it, he went really pale..."

He then explained the next night, how he had found Dark asleep outside under the tree, and thought Dark had woke up, how he freaked out, and as it turned out, he was really still asleep and mumbled again about what he has told him the night before.

"But he didn't remember that either..." Mephiles' ears were in danger of disappearing under his quills. "And he just seemed to get more and more irritable... so I had Dr. Thizon look at him, just to make sure he didn't have another infection or something, like the one we found earlier in the week that we thought caused the problem."

"Why do you think he ran off, then..."

"I dunno what I said... but I was trying to get him to calm down, and I must have upset him terribly... He disappeared, literally, and I hoped he came home... but he wasn't... I don't know what to do..."

"Did you try reporting it?"

"What?"

"Let the police know that he's missing." Rouge elaborated.

Mephiles looked horrified.

"With that Shela lady working with them? That's a horrible idea!"

"It's the best one you can try..." Rouge tried to assure him. "If he's only been gone since last night, it's still early enough to call in. They say that the chances to finding a lost person are better if it's in the first forty eight hours. And he's under the age of eighteen, so they should be able to start on it right away..."

Mephiles stared at the clock and counted quickly on his fingers, stopping in shock before bursting into tears, and lunging forward to wrap his arms around the bat and bawl at the top of his voice.

"I've already wasted _eleven _hours j-just waiting here! That means we only got th-thirty seven left!"

"I'm sure we'll find him..."

"He's alone out there... I don't think he's ever been alone like that before... and he hardly knows how to look after himself..." Mephiles looked up at her, biting down on his lip. "I just wanted to know what was wrong... and he... left..."

"Oh, c'mon..." Shadow shrugged. "The guy hates sunlight and people, so how far could he have gotten? In the city? Hmm?"

At first, Mephiles wanted to hit him, but after thinking about it, Shadow had a point.

This hardly made his feel any better, though.

Dark was all alone out there, and he felt like this was his fault, having pressured him so much that Dark simply wanted to get away from him...

* * *

Dark growled, shielding his eyes from the light. He should have thought to bring those sunglasses, but he had been in such a hurry to leave that he was now going to pay for that mistake.

_I'm going to go blind from all this light..._ He frowned, looking quite disgruntled. _I hate mornings too..._

And the fact that the sun was reflected off the windows of nearby buildings did nothing to help him calm down.

He had not a clue where he was headed, other than that he simply had to move forward to get there. Where "there" was... well... he figured he knew when he got "there".

_Never been much into metaphors... let's just agree that I'm simply "going"._ He shot back at his mind. Some days, he felt as if he'd be willing to strangle his mind... if only it had a neck so he could do so...

To his displeasure, he caught sight of himself in the reflection of a window. Again... it didn't seem right...

On top of that, he could see darkness forming under his eyes, adding to his tired and ill appearance.

_Probably partly due to having to sleep on bricks and cardboard..._ He sighed deeply, tearing his eyes away from the troubling sight.

He stopped in mid step as he realized he was about to trod upon a cat. A full grown, white cat with blue eyes, it seemed, which stared at him with such annoyance, he couldn't help but flinch. Forcing a short, nervous laugh out of himself, he knelt down and attempted to befriend the creature.

"_... I have one of you things back at... well... I wouldn't call it home... Only been there for a short while..._" He gave a small smile with his eyes closed, reaching for the cat carefully. "_He's small, and pretty cute..._"

The cat hissed at him, raising up on it's toes to puff out it's fur before taking off, leaving Dark in a state of confusion. Finally he glared and shouted after it, ignoring the people staring: "_AND HE'S A LOT NICER THAN YOU, STUPID STRAY! HE L-!_" He stopped short, cheeks puffed as if his mouth had spontaneously decided to hold it back. That word again. Why is it so hard to force from his mouth? He exhaled loudly and slowly, letting his posture sink. He wondered if anyone cared to notice his absence by now.

Mephiles, no doubt, was probably in tears looking for him...

Tape was possibly crying out his cat calls, trying to get his attention...

That's two he could think of...

Shadow would no doubt celebrate in the form of brightening his mood considerably, perhaps to the point that Mephiles would be forced to hit him for being such a heartless jerk...

And that bat...?

He hardly had a clue what she thought of him, since they hardly interacted. But he doubted she would be as bad as Shadow. He ought to take the time to remember her name someday...

And...

He hadn't heard much about Logic since he disappeared nearly a month ago.

_Even Logic seems to have abandoned you..._

Dark's eyes went wide.

Where in Chaos did _that _come from?

He spun around, half expecting to come face to face with the speaker, refusing to think that game form the depths of his mind.

Logic did not abandon him... Logic left to return to where he belonged so that Dark could be right again. He did that so that Dark would get better. He didn't just...

He clenched his teeth. He just realized that he was trying to argue with what his mind had come up with.

He was arguing with himself...

He needed to calm down. He was starting to get too worked up over this. T was he worried about anyway? He had already accepted that he was insane, right? Surely, voices and speaking to himself was nothing new, correct? Same old, same old, was it not?

But this was the first time that realization dawned on him so painfully.

* * *

The small, crystal hedgehog form reached up to his bespectacled counterpart, standing on his toes.

"_Up! Up! Up!_" He chattered excitedly, keeping one arm around a stuffed rabbit that was missing an ear and could do with a bit of a patch job. "_Euphie want up!_" He giggled.

Logic couldn't help but smile back. Euphoria was finally starting to develop and grow. Unlike the rest of Dark's emotions, Euphoria was seemingly stuck at a small age, not used enough to grow and become like the rest. Logic had been a favorite, and was therefore overly developed, nearly more intelligent than Dark was aware of.

In the past month, the near mute and shy Euphoria, or "Euphie" as he wanted to be called, started to brighten, immediately taking to Logic, much like Dark had. In fact, it seemed that Euphie _only_ wanted to be around Logic.

Envy looked over his shoulder carefully, trying not to be seen as he stared at them. How mean! He had known the little guy for just as long, and had been one of the many to try and coax him out of his shy shell, and Logic gets all the attention? Hmph!

Disinterest couldn't care less what the kid did.

Unease was unusually restless today, but no one seemed to pay him much mind.

The rest of the emotions, you ask? Oh, they were elsewhere at the moment...

Logic picked up the kid, who seemed no more than two years old, maybe less. Euphie giggled and reached for Logic's glasses, pulling them off and holding them up to his eyes, looking through them in confusion.

"_They only work for my eyes..._" Logic tried to reach for them, unable to really see to clearly, having to squint. "_I can imagine things looking a bit fuzzy for you through them..._"

Euphie pulled them off and held them up in both hands, not realizing that he dropped his stuffed rabbit as he did. Once Logic got his glasses back on his face, Euphie looked around until he found his toy on the dark ground and started to whine, trying to reach for it. Logic looked down and waved his hand, picking the toy up with a bit of his, or rather, Dark's, Chaos Aura. Euphie immediately hugged it once it was close enough.

"_Y'know... you should let me fix this ratty thing up for you..._" Logic comment.

Euphie didn't look pleased, and just held onto his toy tighter, shaking his head as he frowned.

Unease's ears twitched and he looked up, appearing quite startled. Granted, he always looked startled, but everyone could feel that something was wrong.

There was someone else here...

He looked just like most of them did... except for one main difference...

His irises were pinkish purple instead of bright green.

Logic instinctively tightened his hold on the child, who looked at this new entity with a mix of curiosity and anxiety, hiding most of his face into the white fur in his older counterpart's chest.

This new person's dark smile deepened.

"_Who are you?_" Logic demanded, narrowing his eyes. "_You should not be here... this is a restricted area meant only for the emotions of Dark the Shade... State your name and business, now!_"

"My... kind of a bossy one, aren't you..?"

They had never heard this voice before. This fact caused quite a quiet murmur of anxiety as more and more of the emotions arrived, having sensed the disturbance.

Logic flinched slightly but quickly regained his composure.

"_I'm the one in charge, and it's my job to keep order and protect everyone who lives here..._"

"_Who decided _that!" One of the emotions, most likely Tactless, shouted, who was then treated to a good knock on the head several of the other emotions.

The newcomer chuckled lowly.

"Very well... if you would like to know..." He smirked. "I really haven't a name... but I belong to Dark Gaia... I suppose you can call me 'Dire'... I really do like that..."

Logic's eyes went wide.

Dark Gaia?

Not that creature that was fabled to be sealed in the Earth's center for eons and eons? This had to be a lie... that creature was nowhere near ready to be awakened, anyway.

Logic declared just that, and Dire just laughed raucously.

"Haven't you heard? Things are under new management... Old Dee Gee is up and about now, and attacking all the sad and darkened souls he can find to strengthen his power." Dire had trouble holding back his giggling, which was unsettling the other emotions. "And your... 'Dark', did you call him? Well, he's just the kind of poor soul that's as sweet as candy to the boss... just my luck that I get to bring his attention to such a depressed and hopeless individual..."

Rage growled angrily, looking just about ready to charge forward and attack Dire. Logic held his arm out to hold him back.

"_Hey! What gives!_" The angry emotion barked, glaring at his glasses wearing twin. "_This guy is just insulting Dark... no... _all _of us! Are you really going to let him do that?_"

"_Patience... We have no idea what he can do... and if you end up getting hurt... not only do we lose one of our best assets..._" Logic reasoned, bringing his hand back to place on Euphie's head. "_But it'll be under my watch... and I can't allow that..._"

"_Forget the rules! I'll tear him apart!_" Rage growled, clenching a fist. "_Nothing ensures a win more than sheer force!_"

"_Other than a well thought out plan..._" Logic said casually.

Rage groaned in frustration. He really hated it when he had to team up with Logic, that uppity know-it-all...

"_Besides... think of Euphie..._" Logic added needlessly. "_We all need to set a good example for him... do you really want him copying such a reckless act?_"

"_Who cares? Let's just get rid of that guy!_"

Logic sighed quickly.

What was the point of trying to explain to anyone? The only one who saw on his level was Dark, anyway...

* * *

Kinda a bit shorter than usual, but the groove ended here. ^^;

Euphie was the one I kinda intended more so to have in here, and yay! Logic makes his encore! Logic is planned to have some good moments, btw, for all you Logic fans. ^^

As for Dire... I couldn't think up any other way to name or display it. It was supposed to resemble Iblis to a degree... but the eye color is more like Dark Gaia's. Taking on the form of Dark's emotions to try to get them to give in! Oh no!

Sooooo... yeah... I hoped this was okay...


	5. Can't Find A Clever Title!

Oy... this took longer than I wanted. Initially, I started this just as soon as I finished the last chapter, but then I hit a brick wall. ^^;

* * *

Dark stared aimlessly into one of the windows of the buildings. He adjusted his vision, studying the image on the wall carefully. His heart sank... there was meat in it...

How disappointing... he had hoped that with the few Rings he found on the ground that he might have been able to buy something to eat... but no matter how hungry he was, he was not going to resort to devouring the flesh of some poor innocent creature... He figured that he might be sick at the taste of it anyway...

Oh, well, perhaps the next shop might have something... he had heard of places with cheap salads even. He wanted _something _to eat... his brain seemed to function better when he did... maybe that was the problem. Then maybe his brain would shut up...

He paused at another window. There were salads here, yes... but they had chicken bits sprinkled in them. Well, maybe if he picked them out and tossed the bits of greens that touched the poor poultry... it was kinda hard to be a picky eater if you really didn't have much of a choice on what to get...

_This sucks... _He sighed, and decided to give it a shot anyway.

The worst that could happen is that he just gets sick... but it would be a matter if that happened due to not eating, or eating something that didn't agree with him...

Once he was in, he had to stand on his toes to look over the counter, which seemed to have been designed with Humans more in mind than Mobians. He could barely see over the counter, and had to hold onto the edges with his hands to keep himself from toppling backwards due to unbalance. He had the Rings on his thin wrists like bangles to that he didn't lose them. The way the place was designed, he felt almost like a child, having to struggle to look up at the person at the desk, who was a female Human.

Dark tried to hide his dislike for the species, merely for the reason that he was just too hungry to care to be as callus as normal. Apparently, he did well, because she seemed to think of him as... adorable. Dark flinched and blushed slightly, having never heard of such a comment directed at himself before. Perhaps it was the fact that he tried to drop his growl in his voice to simply not be instantly recognized, if anyone looking for him happened to be in hearing range.

Looking away, he explained that he had found the Rings and had no idea how the currency worked, and hoped that it would be enough for what he wanted. As it turned out, a salad of what he was wanting was only one Ring.

Good. That would mean that he could purchase three more times later if he came back. That's at least three times less that he would have to go hungry.

_Maybe the females aren't as bad as the males... _He thought to himself as he left with his food, intending to find a place he could eat it without being in view of anyone. _But, males are usually a more hostile gender anyway..._

* * *

Logic's glasses hit the ground. He squinted to see as he felt around to find them, resting his fingers on the frames. He got ready to pick them up, only to feel a foot step down on them forcefully. Both the glasses... and his hand.

He grit his teeth, but refused to let his weakness show. He was, besides Euphie, the oldest emotion there, followed by Rage. He only seemed the oldest because Euphie was never used as much, and he was quite thankful the poor kid was still so innocent and pure. He didn't have to experience everything like the rest of them did...

But, Logic was next oldest, and the one in charge here, and he couldn't bear to back down if the others were waiting for his command. Rage seemed to be half ready to ignore the initial plan and just take matters into his own hands.

Dire smirked and tilted his head back a bit, leaning forward and pushing more weight into breaking Logic's glasses and pinning his hand to the ground.

"Can't imagine you to be very tough, if you need such brittle glass to see..." He mocked, enjoying that Logic was such a fun target to hit.

Rage couldn't take it. Sure, he didn't get along well with Logic most of the time, but Logic was basically his brother. They had know each other for as long as Dark had known of Shadow. If anyone should be hurting him like that, he'd rather it be himself doing so, because he would at least have the decency to let him back up.

"_Leave him alone!_" Sympathy cried out, having been given Euphie to look after while Logic tried to fight back this foe. Euphie hid his face behind his rabbit toy, whining softly as Sympathy held onto him.

"_No... I'm fine..._" Logic lied, cringing a bit at doing so, also somewhat because of the bruise that had settled in his left cheek. "_I could seriously do this for-_"

"_Oh, give me a break!_" Rage interrupted swiftly. "_Stop lying to us just to look better! We all know you're blind as a bat without your glasses anyway!_"

"_Correction... Bat's are actually quite_-"

He didn't get to finish, as Dire took this as a chance to score a hit across his face, hitting him with enough force to knock him to the ground on his side as Dire lifted his foot off his hand.

Logic scrunched his face in pain as he closed a hand around his destroyed glasses. Shame... those were special order, too...

"I see now..." Dire stepped closer. "In order to take over Dark... I would at first have to get rid of you... since he seems to be nothing without... logic..." He giggled as if he had thought he had made a particularly funny joke, but everyone looked at each other in confusion and just shrugged, earning a non pulsed look from Dire, who snapped at them angrily. "Oh, forget you guys... I'm _hilarious!_ You're just too dull too realize that!"

"_You're a bad comedian... that what we're saying..._" Logic pushed himself from the ground, wobbling a bit to try and get his footing as he squinted, but nevertheless gave a confident grin. "_Me, on the other hand... well... I'm one of the best... Not being conceited or anything... no offense meant, by the way, Vain..._" He added over his shoulder to a particular Dark, who seemed to be fussing over the condition of his quills, trying to get one stray one to go back in place. Logic shrugged lightly when he didn't get a response. "_... But... I run most of everything here..._"

"Oh... you mean on that nice little laptop of yours?"

Logic seemed tense. He realized that he actually hadn't seen his laptop at all today.

Not a good sign.

He inhaled slowly.

"_I have no idea what you could be talking about..._" He tried to play it cool.

Dire grinned wickedly.

"Oh... I think you know very well... what operating system is that thing? Lame?"

Logic made a sound halfway between a scoff and a yelp. He swallowed and tried to reason with himself. The only way he could be sure if this thing knew anything about his special laptop, is if he told him exclusive information from it. He would just have to wait until he heard something that told him that he was lying, that's all...

Then something happened that shook Logic to his core.

Dire tossed a handful of keyboard keys at him. Things like the enter key, and the backspace, and the escape key... even the letters D and G and T and M. Dark blue keys with white lettering.

From his keyboard.

Another special order/custom job.

Logic had to be on the ground again to see them with squinted eyes, dropping the pieces quickly and staring in shock.

Then he glared, looking the most like Dark anyone had ever seen him, his teeth bared.

"_Rage? Can I ask you something?_" He said slowly, sounding unusually calm for someone who just receive such a visual slap upside the head.

Rage made a sound that told him he had heard him.

"_Are you tired of waiting?_"

"_Yeah..._"

"_Rage?_"

"_Hmm?_" Rage wanted him to get to the point.

"_Sic him... now..._"

Rage grinned in a way that was both dark and playful.

"_About time you said that!_" The rather crazy emotion disappeared in a swirl of purples and blacks, reappearing right behind Dire, who simply blinked, not seeming at all startled at Rage's appearance.

"And what are _you _going to do?" He said quite boredly, even daring to yawn. "You don't seem much of a dog..."

Rage tried to swing at him, but Dire casually sidestepped as if it was nothing.

"_You little-_"

"Maybe you didn't hear me earlier..." Dire looked at him with a bored expression before quickly shifting it into a small but rather unsettling grin. He deepened it with a bit of madness as he said more loudly. "I'm from Dark Gaia! I'm here to take over Dark! You can't stop me!"

Rage gave a rather annoyed look as he just stared at him. He blinked.

"_I'd like to see you try..._"

"Ooooh! Is that a challenge? Splendid!" Dire clapped his hands excitedly. "I just _love _challenges!"

"_Anyone else want to help me get rid of this creepy thing?_" Rage looked up slightly, addressing his doppelgangers. "_The more of us, the faster it is..._"

"_Rage asking for help?_" Paranoia said rather worriedly. "_Oh, this _is _the end of the world!_"

But everyone ignored Paranoia, as always.

_

* * *

Dark... where are you..? _Mephiles groaned inwardly, darting his eyes up and down the street. _If it's because I kept pestering you... I'm really sorry... just come back... _

Shadow looked at him carefully, frowning slightly.

"Did you sleep at all last night. By any chance?"

"With Dark missing? Of course not!" Mephiles sounded a bit appalled by the idea. "I mean, that's kinda not fair... what if he didn't find a safe place or something last night, while I just curled up on the couch?"

"If he didn't... it's his own fault for running away..." Shadow shrugged, not really caring how he had sounded.

This sent Mephiles into a hysterical fit. The hedgehog screamed and tried to hit Shadow, only getting a few strikes on him before the black hedgehog caught him by the wrists to keep him still, looking at him with a slightly annoyed face as Mephiles bared his teeth as tears slid down his face.

"Look... I really couldn't care less what happens to him..." Shadow said, narrowing his eyes. "I'm only out here because I know how important he is to you, so give me credit for that..." He softened his glare. "Now... maybe you're just being a bit irritable because you haven't slept much..."

"I'm fine!" Mephiles snapped, trying to pull his arms free. "Stop worrying about me if Dark is still lost!"

Shadow sighed. Of course Mephiles was going to put his needs last... he was quite certain that if _he _turned up missing... then Mephiles would still do the same. When it came to his friends... or rather, now the term was his _family_... Mephiles put them first. And Dark was part of that...

"Alright... I'll let you go at this for another couple of hours..." Shadow reasoned as he let him go. "If we don't see him, then we let the police take care of it for the night, and head back home..."

"And waste all that time?" Mephiles squeaked. "But Rouge said that the first forty eight-"

"There's still a chance after that..." Shadow said. "Nothing is ever certain... he might have just left to to calm down or something, and might show up a week later..."

"But he's not well!" Mephiles said frantically. "He was supposed to come home with me, and rest for a couple of days, and be better! Last I checked, he's not doing that!"

Mephiles was getting a bit testy again. Shadow cringed.

"Okay, just take a deep breath..." He said, and Mephiles did reluctantly. "Okay... now hold it for a moment... think... alright... breathe out... Better?"

Mephiles grunted and forced a slow nod that wasn't really much of a nod.

He was already in a sour mood when they started to look today, considering that he didn't like how Shela got word of this almost as soon as it was reported, and Mephiles had seen her once or twice sticking her nose in their business. As if she was following them...

Mephiles sighed, sinking a bit as he groaned again.

"... Maybe if I just left him alone... this wouldn't have happened..." He muttered, looking all the more upset.

Shadow looked at him, frowning slightly as he shook his head.

"Don't blame yourself... this wasn't your fault..." He said. "He was the one who chose to run off like this... you didn't do anything..."

"I tried to stop him... but I didn't think he was going to leave like that..."

Shadow sighed and half closed his eyes. Trying to get it through Mephiles' head right now was about as easy as trying to get Sonic to swim.

"Look... we'll find him, okay?"

"The sun is starting to go down... with all these shadows..." Mephiles said slowly while looking around himself. "Dark would be hiding wherever he wants... even if he was right here... which I don't think he is, or I would have sensed him..." His ears twitched and he seemed a bit surprised as he heard something that Shadow missed. "... Huh... sounds like a wolf..."

"What?"

"I heard a howl... I didn't think we had wolves around here..."

* * *

"_Logic... just stand this one out..._" Sympathy pleaded. "_You're more of a thinker, and besides... without your glasses... you're..._" He trailed off as soon as Logic gave him a slight glare.

"_I'm fine... but I will not allow-_"

"_Just listen to me for a moment!_" The gentler one cut across him. "_That's all great and all that you feel obligated to keep us out of harm's way... but you're one of the most important components to Dark's brain!_"

"_Did you not just see what that thing did to my laptop! That's very important when it comes to running this whole mind!_"

"_Don't you get it? He's up to something, and it involves you, and quite possibly the rest of Dark's key emotions..._" Sympathy said in a low voice as he tried to find out what exactly. "_I don't know what, since that's your job... but we all know that if Dark loses connection with you... he's extremely vulnerable and will believe anything he's told... which is bad if this guy gets any control..._" Euphie was watching Logic closely as Sympathy continued. "_You can hardly see without your glasses, so how can you expect to defend anyone, much less yourself if you can barely see what's in front of you?_"

Rage watched in confusion as yet another orb seemingly dissipated on contact with Dire.

"_Wha-?_"

"Shadow Energy, huh? Cool..." Dire tilted his head to the side as he cracked his knuckles uninterestedly. "You do realize that I'm made of Dark Energy, don't you? It just cancels it out..."

"_Fine! I'll just use my claws then!_" Rage lunged forward, claws at the ready, but Dire just sidestepped. "_Stop that and actually fight me!_"

"You know... you seem pretty tough..." Dire seemed to ignore that challenge. "Why don't you just ditch these deadweights and make this easier for me? Something tells me that you're not at as full of a potential as you could be..."

"_You're out of your mind if you think I'm going to betray them!_" Rage spun around and tried to land another hit, this time being caught by the wrist and flung to the ground, landing with a hard **THUD ** on his back.

"Well, I tried... can't say I didn't offer you a chance to be spared..." Dire shrugged. "I guess if you become too much of a problem, I can just disconnect you..."

"_You can't control our connections to Dark..._" Rage picked himself off the ground. "_Dark gets to decide, not you..._"

"Oh, you really have no idea what I'm capable of, do you?"

"_For someone who talks so big, you'd better be able to back that up with physical ability!_"

"I'm sorry... Didn't I just throw you to the ground?"

"_I was caught off guard!_" Rage's eyes started to glow red just faintly. "_That's not going to happen again!_"

"Says you..." Dire said causally, letting a small smirk spread on his face as Rage didn't hide how much he was aggravating him.

* * *

Stopping it here, since I can't find anything else to add right now. ^^;


	6. Found

Well, finally got this done. I originally didn't plan for this piece, but I felt like it now.

Enjoy ^^

* * *

It was the second night now, and they were about to call it a day at Shadow's request, but at Mephiles' request, or rather persistence, and the both agreed to continue for at least another hour. Mephiles began to search with, if possible, more enthusiasm, as he scoured every inch of every street, alley and corner he could find.

Mephiles' ears perked up again as he froze right where he was. His eyes widened slightly as he gasped ever so quietly. He thought he could hear something that was very welcoming to his sense.

"Dark? Are you there?"

A crash of trashcans as he heard a familiar voice curse under it's breath. Mephiles looked over his shoulder and saw that Shadow was on the other side of the street right now. If Dark was there, maybe it would be better to talk to him if Shadow was out of sight...

Mephiles slipped into the alley and found Dark holding the top of his head, gritting his teeth in pain, having knocked it quite hard into a very full trashcan.

Right now, Mephiles didn't care how bad Dark looked or how grimy and messy he was from hiding in filthy allies and back streets. He didn't care that the trashcan had dropped rotting fruit peels on his twin's head, and that half eaten noodles with cheese were sliding off him. All the he cared about was that he found him and that he had no intention of letting him out of his sight again.

"Oh, my God! I thought I'd never find you again!" Mephiles exclaimed happily as he rushed forward and pulled Dark to his feet in a hug, for once not caring about getting dirt and junk in his fur.

Dark gave him a look that was like a cross between horrified and angry. He shoved away from him forcefully, shrinking back against the brick wall, panting through bared teeth as he watch Mephiles through a glare.

"Dark? What's wrong? It's just me..." Mephiles looked at him in confusion, holding his hands up to try and convey a non threatening gesture.

Dark blinked and gasped softly, seeming for a moment to have realized what he was doing. He lowered his arms, which he had up against the wall, and gave Mephiles a look that the hedgehog had never quite seen before on him.

"_You weren't supposed to find me..._" Was all he could say to him before trying to shove passed Mephiles as he tried to take off again, but this time, Mephiles caught him by the arm and pulled him back quickly, wrapping his own around him securely so that he couldn't lose grip on him as Dark grew more and more frantic as the seconds passed. "_Let me go! Get away from me! This is all wrong! You weren't supposed to find me! You weren't! You weren't!_"

"I'm not letting you go until I know you won't run away again..." Mephiles said carefully, perplexed at Dark's bizarre behavior. The shadow tried as hard as he could to pull away and shove him back, but Mephiles was determined to hold on. "Dark, please... I know something is going on that's scaring you or whatever... but we'll help... you're not the only one... so I'm sure that there's something that can be done..."

Shadow heard the shouting and appeared there quite quickly, watching Mephiles try and keep a good hold on Dark, wondering if he should risk trying to help, knowing that Dark had such a terrible problem with him, enough as is.

"Shadow, is there anyway to be really sure if he's one of the people affected?" Mephiles looked at him. Suddenly, he squeaked and grit his teeth as Dark managed to get enough free movement to bite down on his arm.

Shadow immediately caught Dark by the head and started to pry his jaws open, perhaps with more force than he really intended to.

Mephiles stared at the both of them in a bit of shock as his eyes stung a bit with tears of both pain and frustration before shouting: "Shadow! Don't hurt him! It's not his fault!"

"You'd rather have him bite another chunk out of your arm?"

"No! But I mean, be careful!" Mephiles reached his other hand over to Shadow's wrist to create a restraint as to how hard he could pull back. "You're pulling too hard... you'll hurt him!"

"He's chewing your arm!"

"Look at him! He's scared!" Mephiles pointed out as he winced in pain from Dark biting down harder. "It's no wonder he's doing this, Shadow!"

Shadow looked at Dark as he tried to pry him off. Dark's ears were swiveled back as his eyes were squeezed shut, fingers clawing helplessly at Mephiles' arm as he tried to free himself from his double's hold, shaking as if he was chilled to the bone.

Shadow let go in a bit of surprise as he watched Dark for a moment, who gradually eased up on his "defense" and slowly grew listless, letting his arms drop and his mouth hang open, releasing Mephiles' arm, which was sporting some new teeth marks almost as deep as the last. His eyes shifted carefully, taking in the world around him as he calmed down. He tilted his head back and looked up at Mephiles, before closing his eyes again, lowering his head as he whispered: "_... You weren't supposed to find me..._"

Neither of the other two hedgehogs were sure if he had fainted or simply collapsed from exhaustion, but it was clear that they wouldn't be going straight home at the moment...

* * *

Logic's eyes had gone blank. He stared helplessly as he watched with his blurry vision Rage take each hit, standing his ground, and trying his best to keep Dire back. Logic had one hand wrapped about his fist as he held it to his mouth, trying to hide his horrified expression.

He was painfully aware that the rest of the emotions were looking at him mutely, awaiting instructions on what to do next.

How was he supposed the tell them that he had no idea what do now? That for once, he failed to be prepared, having his trusted laptop in tote, ready to whip out an answer and solve all their problems? The sad thing was... he couldn't. He knew it...

He felt something prodding his elbow carefully, and he looked down without so much as changing his position, finding Euphie there, reaching up with his stuffed rabbit, smacking him lightly with it to get his attention. The child looked at him innocently, as if expecting him to be able to fix this all.

Logic looked away quickly, as if to ignore him. He didn't want to let anyone know he was as helpless as the rest of them. He had hoped that he was able to hide that shiver, that tremble that ran down his spine.

Sympathy sensed something, and was quick to catch the smaller one by the hand and lead him away.

"_C'mon... Let's leave him be, for a moment... He probably needs it..._"

Tactless was about to shout something involving the laptop, but several other of the emotions gave a good sized thump on the back of his head.

Euphie pulled away for a moment and headed back to Logic before anyone could stop him. He picked up Logic's mangled and now lens-less frames from the ground and held them up, tugging on Logic's arm. Logic didn't look at him. He hadn't even noticed...

* * *

When Dark started to come to again, it was probably record time as far as how long it took him to realize exactly where the heck he was.

Initially, he wanted to throw a tantrum, to scream in frustration and anger that he had been found, and he hadn't even been gone for half a week! He wanted to shred apart every inch of this hospital room he had hated so much, spindash dents and holes in the drywall and destroy whatever he could get his hands on...

As he simply sat there, teeth clenched very tightly, panting deeply and heavily as he gripped at the blankets, slowly pulling them in opposite directions... something occurred to him suddenly...

If he had to separate himself from Mephiles for the time being... why not here, of all places? He could still be away, if only for several hours at a time, and he would not only have a sheltered and comfortable place to rest (aside from this being, well, as hospital, which had steadily become one of his least favorite places), but he had a much better choice here as far as food went, and at least at night, he'd be left alone. It was such a good idea, he wondered if his eyes were really sparkling with pleasure at figuring that out.

The only problem was... that as soon as he seemed to be better... he'd probably be sent back to Mephiles' home. Better enjoy it while it lasts, then...

Dark's head snapped to the door at a sudden sound of the door opening and he saw a blue and crystal quilled head peek around the door and look at him.

"_I can see you... you know that right?_" Dark narrowed his eyes.

"... Why..?"

"_You're not doing a very good job at hiding, obviously..._" Dark shrugged.

"No... I mean, why did you run away like that?" Mephiles pushed the door open a little more to step into the room and close it, and Dark could see that he was holding an oddly boxed shaped item in his hands.

Dark focused his attention on the object, realizing with a quick and inaudible gasp that this was a square cantaloupe. He had forgotten all about asking Mephiles to find one! It had been at least close to a month and half ago since he gave it a thought.

Mephiles noticed that Dark was staring at it and said in a quiet explanation: "Shadow helped me find and order one online weeks ago... they finally got in stock this week when the crop was finished, and it was a rush delivery..." His grip on it shifted a bit. "But you still didn't answer me..."

Dark was now staring at the bandaged bite marks and shifted his ears down, looking away.

"_S-sorry..._"

"Know what? I really don't care right now..." Mephiles seemed quite the opposite, however. "At least we found you..."

Dark tried to raise his right hand to his head to scratch behind his ear, and realized something a bit startling... something was stopping him from doing so...

He snapped his eyes wide open and flung his head to the side, seeing that there was an odd looking, somewhat Ring looking thing bound to his wrist. Or rather, what looked like two silver, and somewhat crude shaped Rings bound to small chains that bound his wrist to the side bar of the bed.

After a bit of angry stuttering, he shouted: "_WHAT IS THIS?_"

Mephiles didn't look at him, but rather, at the ground as he set the cubical melon on a nearby chair.

"Uh... that wasn't my idea..." He started slowly, obviously not happy about the idea. "But, this is to make sure you don't try to run off again..."

"_By shackling me to the bed?_" Dark shook the arm angrily, to show how bad he felt about this idea. "_What did I possibly do that warranted the idea to chain me up like an animal?_"

"It's not for too long!" Mephiles tossed his hands up in the air in front of his face, shrinking back meekly. "It's just until we're sure you won't run away again... really..." His ears shifted back. "You can't just disappear like that! What if something bad happened, and I never knew? It's winter now, so it's going to be getting really cold... you could freeze!"

Before he could launch into a set of bad scenarios, Dark held his left hand up to make him stop.

"_Now, do you _really_ want to induce a panic attack right now from worrying too much?_"

Mephiles gave a frustrated stutter.

"T-that's all you have to say? What about having one the moment I realized you didn't come home! I haven't even _slept!_"

"_Well, I'm not leaving now... so I hope you're happy..._"

"Dark, you can't leave right now, even if you _wanted _to..."

"_Come again..?_" Dark was caught off guard by this one. He hadn't expected such an answer.

"This thing... the epidemic..." Mephiles started to explain, looking even more nervous. "Well... we only know that it's happening... no one, especially the doctors, knows what's the real cause and how to counter it..."

"_Ooookay..._"

"You're going to have to be here until someone figures out a cure, or it goes away..."

"_Are you telling me that I'm... quarantined?_" Dark narrowed his eyes slowly.

"Not... exactly the right word, since you're not contagious..." Mephiles took a step back. "But, if the other people are any indication... you might get worse at night..."

There was a brief silence, to which Dark had given the most disbelieving expression Mephiles had ever seen.

"_No._" Dark finally said, shaking his head. "_No. Nuh-uh. I refuse._"

"Dark..."

"_I will not be used as a lab rat if no one knows what the-_" Hmm... colorful... "_-is wrong with me!_" He pulled at the restraint again, this time more frantically. "_I hate it here! Let me go! Mephy!_"

Mephiles was worried that his constant yanking at the handcuff was going to cause some sort of injury to his wrist, like spraining it, or bruising it badly. He didn't want Dark to hurt himself, which was probably what was going to happen if Dark kept at it...

Mephiles' eyes gained a purplish tinge as an Aura of identical color swarm around Dark's wrist and freeze his arm in place as Mephiles' eyes gave a blank look momentarily. When the look passed and Dark was let go, the shadow let his arm drop as Mephiles blinked, unaware of what he just did exactly. He did know, at least, that Dark has stopped.

"Don't do that... you could hurt your wrist..." He said quietly.

"_If you took this off me, then we wouldn't have to worry about it..._" Dark snapped back, narrowing his eyes.

"I can't do that even if I wanted to! And believe me, I really do!" Mephiles raised his voice slightly before lowering it again. "But... I don't have the key..."

He took a sharp breath as Dark didn't change his expression.

"_Then who does..?_" He growled.

"Nyuh..." Mephiles really had made a sound as if his mouth decided to stop working properly. That's about as close as I can get to transcribing it. He swiveled and folded his ears back as he made yet another whimper, knowing that Dark wasn't going to be too pleased... perhaps putting it lightly. "Erm... Heh..." He cleared his throat and tried again in a relatively weak voice in comparison to a few moments ago. "... C-cat..."

…

…

…

…

…

"_You have _got _to be _KIDDING_ me! That bi_-_!_" Mephiles clamped his hands over Dark's mouth before the word spilled out, giving him a sharp look as he twitched an ear, and eyebrow and shifted his eyes in the direction of the viewing window on the wall. Dark's eyes followed that gaze and saw that Shela was there, looking quite smug as she dangled a small chain with a key on her fingers.

The last straw for Dark was that she stuck her tongue out and waved at him... the very same way he had to her the last month when he got her thrown out of the place.

"_... This isn't because she thinks I should be chained up for my own safety..._" He said with a strange amount of calmness in his voice as soon as Mephiles stepped back. He took a deep slow breath before launching back into a rage. "_THIS IS PAYBACK FOR_-_!_"

Mephiles clapped his hands over his mouth again.

"For Chaos sake, Dark!" He said in a furious whisper. "You aren't the only one here tonight, y'know! Shut up before you wake the whole hospital!"

* * *

Later that night, Dark woke up suddenly.

Sitting up, he stared out the window on the wall parallel to the door, seeing the night sky, it's lightened colors showing him that it had barely passed twilight.

Strange... he could have sworn he heard heard a howl. Like a wolf... or maybe a coyote... probably a wolf...

Thinking back to when he had seen what the blue hedgehog had become, he shuddered a little, realizing that it might have been from that hedgehog. As far as he knew, Sonic was still in Westopolis... so it wasn't too far of a stretch...

Not liking his empty room one bit (Mephiles had been forced to go home before it got too dark out, so that he wasn't in any danger had anything gone wrong), Dark sighed and tried to roll on his side , but was unable to do so because of the handcuff. He tugged at it frustratedly before realizing something he overlooked.

He focused on becoming his base form (still a bit shaky at it since Iblis really messed him up, so he had to change his entire body, rather than one spot) and reformed, his arm now free. He smiled lightly, rubbing his wrist, pleased to finally be out of that, and flopped on his side, wanting to avoid as much time as possible of being exposed to darkness while awake. He could already hear the distant sounds of other patients starting to stir, and he'd rather not be one of them...

* * *

However, if you were to look in his room later in the night, you would not find him in his bed.

He was wandering the halls of the hospital, eyes half open, with no real intention of doing anything as he did so.

Dark was sleepwalking yet again.

Had Mephiles been there, he would have noted that this was at least the third time in a week and a half. But Mephiles was not. So it didn't really matter.

Had Thizon not know about Dark's somnambulism, he might have figured that this was part of the nocturnal occurrences that was happening to everyone that had been admitted into this hospital.

He confirmed it to his colleagues, testing Dark's reaction to light, and saw that Dark's eyes stayed out of focus, not to mention that the dark hedgehog didn't recoil or retaliate, as he normally did from this test. Humorously, this was counted as Dark's best behavior so far. Humorously, as I said.

_Strange, I thought I heard that Shela had him cuffed to the bed..._ Thizon mused to himself, taking it upon himself to lead Dark carefully back to his room.

There he found the handcuffs, still locked and one still around the side rail of the bed.

Strangely yet, he didn't bother trying to figure out how that was still possible if Shela had the only key.

Perhaps he was just getting used to the way things worked with hedgehogs like Dark and Mephiles. Or maybe he was pleased about the temporary increase in his pay for volunteering for the night shift, as he had done so many times before, but never once before had his pay altered. He planned to get his glasses replaced with a pair with unbreakable frames with what he didn't use to pay his bills and whatever else.

* * *

Go Thizon! You deserve it! XD


	7. Typed From An iPod

In case you haven't heard... My computer is dead. So this chapter is typed from my iPod Touch... ^^; This was originally intended to be a Halloween Chapter.

* * *

A paper ball flew through the air, bouncing off the ground as a furry little black form chased after it, tumbling on the floor as white paws wrapped around it.

Mephiles sighed as something small with sharp teeth and claws and a spiky dot above it's head tackled it as well.

_It's too quiet without Dark here..._ Mephiles told himself. He didn't dare go in the kitchen where Shadow was, because the black hedgehog was putting together some sort of model and had newspaper laid out across the table, and was so into it, that Mephiles doubted that he would be noticed at all anyway.

That... and he was a little creeped out by Shadow's mutterings to himself, presumably about the model, which was some sort of two wheel vehicle, strangely in Shadow's color scheme. The mutterings sounded oddly like "... Shame I lost you..." and "... I had so much fun..."

To add to that... Rouge had left to go shopping, as they were short on some important things, and though he would normally offered to go with her, Mephiles didn't feel like leaving the couch, and to add to that further... There was nothing good on TV, and the shows he liked were rerunning the same episodes for the third time this week!

The phone rang, and he just looked sidewise at it before turning his attention back to the TV. _He_ wasn't going to answer that. He hated answering the phone. Most of the time, it was telemarketers anyway...

"Is anyone going to get that?" Shadow said, not looking up from his project as the phone kept ringing.

Mephiles sighed again, and got up, heading over to answer it.

"Hello..?" Mephiles said quite unenthusiastically.

Shadow's ears perked up at a sharp gasp, the sound of something hitting the floor, and then a spur of purple energy sparking off from somewhere as it engulfed the florescent light above him and made it explode, charring the plastic cover.

He looked up from his project, and turned his head slowly to the side, finding Mephiles to be standing right where the phone was, hand held up in the air as he stared blankly, eyes wide and fur and quills on end. He seemed frozen, as the phone itself lay on the floor beside him.

Shadow blinked, looking back at his project as he wondered what had happened. Finally leaving his model, he walked over to Mephiles and picked the phone off the ground.

"Hello?"

It was the hospital, and be the sound of things, he was probably going to have to leave his project to help restore order. "Can't you just hit him over the head or something to get him to knock it off?"

Thizon's yell over the phone was making it obvious that it wasn't that easy.

"Oh, alright... We'll be there in a bit..." Shadow cringed as he pulled the phone back to his ear.

* * *

Mephiles grabbed at his ears, wincing at the "sound" only he could hear. Everyone, save for Thizon, Shadow and Mephiles, had evacuated the floor of the hospital, which was locked down.

Black, inky darkness was sliding across the floors, crept up the walls and dripped from the ceiling.

Shadow, half out of curiosity, reached forward and tried to touch it, only for a piece to branch off and crawl quickly up his arm, and try to suffocate him.

He reacted quickly, grabbing it with a hand, tearing it off and flinging it back into the darkness. Then he formed a Chaos Spear, and held it in front of him, the mass pulling away from him.

At the same time, Mephiles had also tried to touch the darkness, but instead the mass pulled away, and parted, as if he was simply a barrier.

"Whoa..." Mephiles whispered, pulling his ears back as he tried to ignore what was making his inner ears itch.

He stood up, blinked and took a step forward. The darkness pulled away from him again, as if it didn't care he was there.

Looking up, he could see the source of the darkness, drifting out from under a door... The door to the room that Dark had been assigned to. Crossing the room, he tried the door, and found it to be locked.

"Hey... Can I get in there..?" He looked at Thizon, who was hiding behind Shadow, trying to wrestle his glasses from a tendril of darkness. Then, the darkness, almost as if to mess with him, let go, and Thizon toppled back into Shadow, holding up his now tweaked and useless frames. Mephiles waited, then asked again, and he was tossed a keyring, which he almost fumbled and nearly dropped.

He unlocked the door and went in, gawking in confusion as to what he saw. Dark was in the middle of all this, sitting slumped forward on the bed, eyes wide and solid black, as if he in a trance of some sort. From a wild guess, Mephiles figured easily that whatever was going on and Dark being like this had to be connected.

Mephiles gave him a quick shake, but it didn't wake him up. If he was slightly worried a few minutes ago, he was even more worried now.

"Hey, c'mon, Dark... Snap out of it..." He said worriedly, shaking him again. "You're scaring people... You're sc-scaring me..."

Tendrils started to form around them, and Mephiles didn't like that. Especially when they started to inch towards him. A squeak escaped him, and he took a step back, closer to Dark.

"D-dark... D-do something..." He stuttered in a somewhat weak voice. "S-stop it... D-dark?"

Something wrapped around his foot and he shouted in fright and grabbed Dark by the shoulders and smacked him hard in the face. Dark's eyes went back to normal and he shouted in pain, all the darkness disappearing and returning back to where it came from. Dark held a hand to his face, scrunching his features as he let loose a stream of curses, finally looking up and glaring at Mephiles.

"_What is your problem! IT FEELS LIKE YOU ALMOST BROKE MY NOSE!_" Dark barked a him, baring his teeth.

"You scared me!" Mephiles justified, taking a step back away from him, biting down on his lower lip. "I wasn't trying to hurt you! I was trying to wake you up!"

He tried to explain what had happened, but he was stuttering so much from the effect that Dark's anger had on him, that he couldn't speak straight. Dark glared at him, letting an angry growl roll from deep in his throat.

The next thing anyone outside the room knew, Mephiles was out of the room, slammed the door shut, and hurried away from it, shouting in fright as Dark spindashed through it, destroying the door completely as he took off after him.

"Dark! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" Mephiles wailed, dropping to the ground to dodge him, Dark slamming into the wall as he spindashed again. Before either of them could get up, Shadow pinned Dark to the ground, eyes narrowed.

"What do you _think_ you're doing?" Shadow said loudly as Dark fought against him. "You trying to bring this place down or what?" Dark tried to bite him, but Shadow grabbed him with his other hand and restrained him even more. "No! Not the arm! Not this time!"

Mephiles looked up from the ground, folding his ears back as he just stared. The last time Dark acted like this...

"Stop it! Both of you!" He shouted as he picked himself off the ground, waving his hands in the air, getting their attention. "I-I'm... I-I mean... I d-didn't... I'm sorry D-Dark! It's my f-fault!"

"No! No, it's not, Meph!" Shadow snapped at him. "Stop apologizing for things you didn't do..."

"B-but..."

"How long are you going to keep letting him do this to you?" Shadow shot a slight glare at him over his shoulder. "If you're not defending him, you're scared witless! Tell me... What kind of brother is supposed to do that?"

"It's not his f-"

"How long are you going to keep telling yourself that?" Shadow cut across him.

"Shadow! If he's acting like this, wouldn't that mean that because of that "virus" thing, he's acting differently than himself?" Mephiles reasoned. "He's acting like this because he's not himself! _You_ said that would happen! Why are-"

Mephiles stopped suddenly when he looked at Dark, who didn't look so angry anymore. In fact, he looked quite upset.

"... I don't try to hurt anyone... I don't mean to..." He said, losing his growl as his ears drooped.

Shadow was surprised enough that he let go and jumped back. He hadn't heard Dark's true voice before. He was amazed at how many shades away from Mephiles' it was.

"_I_ know you don't..." Mephiles said, moving past a stunned Shadow and offered a hand, which wasn't taken. "C'mon, you have to go back to the room..."

"_I'm tired of staying here..._" Dark muttered, looking down.

"I know... But you have to be here until either you're cured or whatever is going on stops..."

"_... Hrrrm..._" Dark groaned unenthusiastically.

Mephiles sighed before getting an idea that was bound to help cheer Dark up. He looked at Thizon, who was holding his mangled frames up to his face, having been forgotten for some time now by the hedgehogs.

"Can we bring Dark's cat tomorrow? He hasn't seen him since he was last home, and he always makes Dark feel better... Please..?"

* * *

Shadow and Mephiles were now on their way home, the sun starting to set, and no doubt, they wanted to be home before the strange things started to happen.

"I wonder what that was all about? I don't think he even knew we were there until I smacked him..."

"... I didn't know he could sound like that..." Shadow was still surprised.

"He says that he's had the growl for so long, he can't use his real voice..." Mephiles explained. "At least not very often..."

Mephiles suddenly stopped, twitching his ears in confusion.

"What?" Shadow said.

"I swear to you, I hear a wolf!"

"It's not impossible... Westopolis has all sorts of-"

"No... I mean a howl... I've heard it every night now..."

"I don't hear it..."

"Because you don't have ears like mine and Rouge. We can hear things others can't..." Mephiles looked into an alley, and thought he saw something move. This time, he figured not to look further into it. 


	8. Computer Still Broken

There was no sound. Nothing to hear... and nothing he could force from his mouth. His ability to vocalize had been reduced to something resembling a whisper, or at least a forced exhale.

He felt as if he had run without pause for a good hour or so. His arms felt too heavy to move at the moment, his heart was pounding so much he could hear it in his ears, he wasn't breathing in a steady rhythm, and a chill ran through him, adding to this unpleasant feeling.

At first, he had been horrified that he couldn't move, but his slowly returning logic reasoned that he was experiencing sleep paralysis, and that he hadn't fully awakened, yet, from what he gathered to have been a terrible dream.

He was half pleased that he didn't remember any of it, but at the same time wondered how bad it must have been.

The moment he was able to sit up properly, he did so, rubbing at his eyes furiously, trying to rid them of that early morning burn and blur.

He panted, trying to catch his breath, as he kicked the covers off and slid off the bed, leaning against it for support as he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for his legs to stop shaking.

_Er... I'm going to go mad if this keeps up... Nothing here is helping... I'm just stuck here..._

Dark lifted his head, glancing out the window to see what the time could possibly be. The sky was orange and pink, the clouds almost purple from the sun rising. He scrunched his face instinctively, turning away from the window. Too bright. He should ask Mephiles to bring his sunglasses next time. That seemed to help his eyes...

His ear twitched at a small squeak, and his eyes shot open as he swing his head to stare at the source. A tiny mouse, somehow having escaped detection by anyone here, was pawing at the floor, perhaps searching for what it hoped to be finding, dropped bits of food.

At first, Dark flinched, wondering why such a creature would be here, as he had been sure not to leave the room in such condition to welcome mice. Then he relaxed, blinked and looked around to see if he was being watched before inspecting things further.

It appeared that the mouse had entered through the grate in the air vent. In fact, the small creature appeared to have chewed and weakened the area to squeeze through.

"_Oh... How lucky you are..._" He said in a low voice to the smokey colored rodent, bringing himself to the floor between the bed and wall with the window. The mouse lifted it's head and froze, only moving it's whiskers. "_... I cannot leave this room..._"

He narrowed his eyes in thought as he stared at the tiny shadow on the tiles. Then his lips twisted slightly into a small grin, teeth bared just a little.

"_... Can I borrow that..?_"

* * *

"One..."

Rage blinked and inhaled sharply. He couldn't see where Dire went.

"Two..."

He felt something hit the base of his skull.

"Three..."

Darkness crawled into the edges of his sight as he went down.

"Sit... Stay... Good boy..." Dire looked up at the other emotions, several of which stepped back with varying sounds of fright, while others stood their ground, and some seemed helpless, ranging from reasons such as that being just how they were made, or being unable to process any feelings that did not relate to them.

Logic was still frozen. He had yet to move, and even Euphie knew something wasn't quite right.

"Well now... With that one out of the way, I suppose I can get started on the rest of you..." Dire had his eyes closed with a small smile that did not match what he had been doing. "Bear in mind... I'll only have to fight you if you make me... Either way... I _will_ complete my objective... And that is bringing Dark to the attention of my master..." Wagging a finger side to side, he half opened his eyes and showed some teeth. "Prolonging it only does just that... I'm not intimidated by any of you, and I will not hesitate to put you in your place..."

"_Then why don't you fight us in your true form?_" One of the Darks said, folding his arms and tilting his head back just slightly to show a displeased face. "_You take on the look of one of us..? What? Too scared to show us?_"

The smile dropped from Dire's face quite suddenly.

"Tell me... Are you left handed, right or both..?" His eyes narrowed.

The Dark that had spoken, blinked.

"_Why does that matter..? It's completely irrelevant... And why should you care..?_"

"Humor me..."

The Dark that had been talking growled lowly.

"_You've got a lot of nerve demanding that..._"

Dire snorted and disappeared in a blink, reappearing right behind him. He grabbed both both arms from behind, pulled them back and leaned in a little to be near his ear.

"... Left or right..?"

The Dark, who was known as Arrogance, or "Arrow" for short, widened his eyes, pupils contracting to pinpricks. He hadn't seen him even move!

"Pick one... Or I'll do it for you..."

"_Left..._"

"Wrong..." The sound of bone breaking as Arrow held his breathe sharply and grit his teeth, turning his widened eyes the best he could on Dire who was grinning again. "_Now_ you're right..." He snickered as he let go, Arrow sliding the the ground as he held onto his injured wrist.

"_... You... sick little..._" He faded into a low growl of pain, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Perhaps that was a bit over the top... Hmm..." Dire seemed to suddenly be thoughtful about this, dragging his index finger down his own cheek slightly. "But really... You should have answered sooner..." He looked up with the small smile again. "Now, who's next? Any takers?"

* * *

He was marveling at not being covered in crystals. He pawed at his nose, feeling just flesh on his digits.

He was disappointed that he seemed to keep his blue coloring, meaning he could not easily hide in this form, but at least he could fit through the grate.

The vision his eyes saw would take some getting used to, but it wasn't like he was going to stay like that.

Once in the vent, the mouse Dark was surprised that the tiny claws had a hard time getting traction in there. That, and it was not unlike a labyrinth in the vent.

_Maybe I should have thought this through..._ He told himself as he slipped and tumbled down a drop several minutes in. Getting off his back, he shook the dust off and ventured further down. _... I do hope this is just air conditioning and not heat..._

Suddenly, his tiny body slipped through a grate beneath him, and he hit the ground some time later, presumably having fallen from the ceiling.

Paws flailing about as he rolled off his back, he was surprised the fall hadn't killed him. Just as he was getting ready to scurry away, something grabbed at his mouse tail and lifted him off the floor, and he couldn't help but squeak repeatedly in fear.

"Y'know, Meph..." Said a voice that sounded not too surprised. "I can't help but notice how this dark blue mouse has light blue paws, green eyes, a white chest and the same color pale tan on it's face like Dark's and your muzzle..."

_Oh, you have_ got _to be kidding me!_ Dark was furious at both having such a paper thin disguise, and now being dangled by the tail by his least favorite person.

He swung himself up and bit through the glove, prompting Shadow to drop him. Then in a poof of black and purple, Dark was in his hedgehog form, crouched on the ground, teeth bared and fur on end as the other two hedgehogs stared at him.

"_I swear to Chaos, if you ever manhandle me like that again, your hand won't be the only thing that's bleeding!_"

Mephiles seemed most surprised.

"Since when could you change shape like that!"

"_I'm a shadow! How do you think!_" Dark barked, his quills raising a bit more. "_I've been stuck here for probably longer than I've been in your house! I hate it here! I'm desperate to try anything! Now get out of my way and let me out before I make you!_"

"Wh-what?" Mephiles stammered, still kinda lost. "B-but you're supposed to stay here..."

"_Please..?_" Dark added in a somewhat calmer voice. "_I just want out of here... I just..._" He blinked. "_I-Is that my cat?_" He added in a moment of stupidity.

"Yes... They said we could bring him..." Mephiles said slowly, Tape hopping off his head, which for some strange reason, he was sitting there, and brushed up against Dark, purring, once he landed and made his way to him. "I asked, since you've been stuck here, and I thought you would feel a bit better, if we brought something from home, even if-Are... Are you a-alright...?" Mephiles suddenly stammered as Dark stared at him with wide, shimmering eyes before bursting into tears. "Oh... Oh dear..."

"Awkward..." Shadow said slowly as he clenched his teeth and looked up at the ceiling.

Dark would have attacked him for that comment, had he not been so upset at the moment. He couldn't explain why, only that it felt like his anger had been wiped clean off him and left him feeling this moment of hopeless and overwhelming despair.

He tried to counter it by biting down a little on his lower lip, and force it all away, but it only left him shaking, eyes burning from trying not to blink, and the back of his throat uncomfortable and sore as well. He tried to hide it by lowering his head. But he knew they had seen.

Oh, the embarrassment of it all...

Mephiles looked at him in a mixture of anxiety and concern, placing a hand on his shoulder, realizing how bad this might be, as Dark didn't react as harshly as the rest of the times.

"A-are you... Eh... What's wrong..?" Mephiles realized that simply asking him if he was alright wasn't going to work, since it was quite clear that he wasn't. "It's okay... Uh... No one's hurt. Th-there's no need to be upset..."

"_I'm going mad! I just know it!_" Dark suddenly shouted, grabbing at his own quills on his head, then yanking them down, bending a couple out of shape. "_I'm losing my mind! Nothing makes sense anymore! Nothing!_"

Mephiles flinched and drew back for a moment.

"C-calm down! You're getting hysterical!" He caught him by the shoulders and stared at him intently and with concern. "Please! Remember what happened last time you got hysterical? Calm down, I-I'm sure we can do something... It can't be as bad as you think it is... Uh... Sh-shadow? Little help, please?" He looked at Shadow helplessly. "... I don't know what to do..."

"What can _I_ do? He hates me, so he'd probably just get worse..." Shadow answered truthfully waving his hands. "... Sorry... Just keep doing what you are... That's all I can say..."

Mephiles didn't know what else to do. Dark was upset, and greatly at that. Not that it hadn't happened before, but it was so out of place for Dark to lose his composure like that. Whatever the reason... It must have been bad to the poor shadow.

Dark had already tried to stop vocalizing, but there was still the matter of him pulling at his quills.

"C'mon, Dark..." Mephiles said, grabbing him by the wrists and carefully prying his hands from his head. " You're not losing your mind... You've just been stuck here for so long that it feels like it..."

"_Then get me out of here, Mephy!_" Dark snapped at him."_If that's the reason, then make it stop! Please!_"

Hearing Dark plead was something that never felt right to Mephiles. It made him feel even more helpless. He had about as much authority as Dark did in this situation. He could only abide by the rules they had been given.

"I'm sorry, Dark... Really..." Mephiles shook his head. "I can't do anything... You really shouldn't be out of your room... Uh..."

Dark looked horrified when he realized that they would have to go there by the possible way of stairs... And if not, then by the small space of the elevator. Either way, they were bad to him.

He didn't dare step foot on a set of stairs higher than three steps since he had been thrown by Iblis, and the bigger they were, the worse he felt about them.

The elevator was enclosed. It was just the thing to set off a panic attack that was the product of claustrophobia.

But the elevator was the lesser of the two terrifying things. So...

"_Please not the stairs..._" Dark said quietly. "_Please don't make me use them..._" He knew Mephiles didn't know yet about his claustrophobia, and he hoped that he wouldn't make it so obvious when they got on. When they were, Dark didn't realize that his hand was nearly crushing Mephiles' arm until it was pointed out. Apparently trying block out his mind didn't make him appear as stoic as he wanted to about it.

Lucky for him, Mephiles didn't seem to suspect a thing... 


	9. Still Busted Computer

Mephiles awoke that night in confusion. He at first wondered why he was on the floor, before slowly remembering that he had decided to sleep on the other side of Rouge's bed that night like he used to, because he didn't want to be alone in the living room.

Sitting up and blinking after wiping at his eyes, he felt like he was being watched and realized it was just that: Shadow and Rouge were staring at him.

"What's... wrong..?" He said slowly, wondering if he missed something. "Why are you guys looking at me like that..?"

"Should we take it seriously? If he doesn't remember it, then?" Shadow said to Rouge, seemingly ignoring his question.

"What..?" Mephiles asked again, thoroughly confused. "Take what seriously?"

"Well, he has yet to be wrong... So-"

"Helloooo! Is anybody hearing me!" Mephiles was getting impatient. "What are you two talking about!"

The bat and hedgehog exchanged glances before looking back at Mephiles.

"You don't remember it at all?" Shadow said.

"Remember what?" Mephiles folded his arms in frustration.

"Odd... Because you kept repeating it..."

Mephiles nearly fell back in shock.

"R-repeating?" He said back, just to be sure. Already, this didn't seem good. "What ab-bout?"

"Earthquakes and falling buildings... Not really specific where... But still, you were pretty frantic about it..."

"I d-don't remember th-that..." Mephiles stammered truthfully. Now he felt horrible. He remembered how he used to fall ill after bad visions/nightmares that he couldn't recall. He wondered if he was going to be sick, as a shudder started to form in his body. He wanted badly to simply brush it all off, but he knew better than to ignore a possible warning. But he didn't even know what it was really about. "I-I can't remember anything about it..."

If he wasn't freaking out before, he was now borderlining a panic attack. He didn't know what was worse... Him not remembering, or him feeling like he should remember it. What if it was important, and could help someone? He always hated this power, and knew that it had been long due for something to pop up.

But... Did he not have one about Dark drowning before that did not come to pass? Yes, he could remember every detail of that one, from that horrible rush of fear he had felt when he couldn't reach Dark, to choking on water himself as he tried frantically to use his healing powers to make Dark breathe again. How Dark didn't seem to realize the real danger of this, and how Mephiles was torn between giving in to his fear of water and staying back, and his want of trying to save Dark. Instinct fighting against heart. What a horrible feeling.

It may have never really happened, but it had felt real enough to be mistaken for a terrible memory.

Instead of drowning, Dark nearly bled to death. He was surprised to learn that Dark should have slipped into a coma that would have not ended so soon. He guessed that the Emeralds may have had something to do with his somewhat fast recovery...

But that "nightmare" merely foretold the near death experience... In a way, it was right...

So what about this one he didn't recall at all? Shadow and Rouge wouldn't lie to him, nor would they make that up just to mess with him, so should it be taken seriously..?

That horrible feeling did not go away and he realized that he could very well be sick in a matter of minutes. Maybe less.

He calmly got to his feet, holding his breath as he tried to counter the feeling, holding a hand up to motion to Shadow and Rouge to kindly not ask questions until he was certain he could do so without problem.

Then his eyes grew wide and he hurried out of the room with a muffled groan, his friends cringing in unison at the coughing and gagging sounds that echoed in the bathroom in the next room over.

Nope. It was still a problem.

* * *

_I have to get out of here..._ Dark stared up at the ceiling, counting the dots in each tile. _I don't care how, I just need to get away..._

It was now nearing a week and a half since he had been admitted to the hospital, and each day that past felt like it kept adding to something that was on the verge of breaking very soon. He didn't know what, but the urge to escape kept getting stronger.

Since his little stunt as trying to escape as a mouse, greater mind was paid to him, and it was difficult to even near the vicinity of the door to the room without knowing that someone was watching closely.

Trapped... Locked up... Alone... He couldn't believe that this was happening to him. Yes, he was allowed to have Mephiles visit, but only during daytime, and never after the sun went down. And he was usually more active at night, so all of this messed with his internal clock.

He was now starting to suffer from insomnia because he was not allowed to follow his normal schedule. He fell asleep later and later into the nights, and woke up quite sour at being unable to maintain the correct hours to rest.

He ate in lesser amounts (not that he wasn't minimal to begin with...), to the point that even Shadow offhandedly had pointed it out, much to Dark's annoyance.

"_... I'm quite fine..._" He insisted in a low voice, ironically because his lack care for his needs was causing him to feel more spent.

"Don't starve yourself, Dark..." Mephiles said in concern. "Not only is that bad for you, but once the people here notice, they'll have to either... Eh... Heh..." He trailed off when Dark gave him a hard stare.

"_... I said I'm fine._" He growled, picking himself up off the floor, where he had settled between the wall and bed to shy away from the light. He folded his arms and glared as Mephiles' eyes scanned him quickly, catching the nuances that no one else seemed to notice.

Mephiles frowned slightly in silence before mouthing to him: "... Liar..."

Only Dark saw that, and he clenched his teeth in annoyance at being read so easily by him. He dropped his gaze to the floor, silently embarrassed.

Then without a word, Mephiles stepped forward and caught some of the tufts of Dark's muzzle between his fingers and pulled them flat against his skin, Dark staring in wide eyed confusion. Mephiles frowned again, this time more noticeably.

"You're getting thin again... The fluff hides most of it well, but I can still tell... When did you eat last?" He let go of the fur as Dark clapped a hand to his face to hide behind it.

"_Eh... Y-yesterday..._"

"What was it?"

"_F-fruit..._"

"How much?"

"_Eh..?_"

"How much did you have?" Mephiles clarified.

Dark paused before answering in a softer voice.

"_... four grapes and a banana..._" He let his ears fold back as Mephiles stared in mild (or perhaps more) shock.

"That's _all_ you had yesterday? You mean to tell me that over the course of twenty-four hours, you only ate something the size of a medium popsicle?"

"_... And four grapes..._" Dark clarified, holding up his hand with his thumb folded down.

"That... You... Promise me you won't do that again..." Mephiles pleaded, giving him a worried look. "... You'll get sick if you don't feed yourself right... You should know that by now..."

"_... I just don't feel like eating..._" Dark replied truthfully. How could he? He was to consumed with trying to find a way to at the very least leave the room. The small bathroom conjoined to it didn't count. He wanted to have some freedom again.

"Don't make yourself sick..." Mephiles warned. "You're not here to get sick. You're here to get better..."

"_... If they can find out what's wrong with me..._" Dark growled in a low voice.

"Well, it'll take time..."

"_If they can't fix the normal people..._" Dark narrowed his eyes as he rounded suddenly on the hedgehog. "_What makes me any different? I might as well be stuck here for a long time. Better yet, just lock me away from everyone, and save the trouble of having to do so later. I'm just bad for everyone, right?_" The last word had a strange infliction on it. As he neared the end of his statement, Dark's eyes flickered to Mephiles' near healed arm, which still needed bandages, but not nearly as badly as before.

Mephiles also looked at his arm, staring in a brief bout of shock at Dark's words. He looked up, a little sad looking.

"That's not you talking... is it..?" He brought his hand to his bandaged arm and gently grasped it. Dark blinked, but didn't change his expression. Mephiles held his breath briefly. "I know you don't want to be locked away... So, it seems logical that that's not what you really think..."

"_Logic?_ Logic?" Dark snapped, glaring as he clenched his hands. "_What logic? I haven't heard from him in a long time! There is no logic! Logic has already left!_"

There was something about his voice now. It seemed to have raised a few pitches, and Mephiles visually responded by folding his ear back, stepping in reverse, widening his eyes, and letting his jaw drop and hang open in even more shock. Dark had sounded defensive, perhaps a bit hurt in the undertone. Did he really believe that he had been ignored yet again..?

Mephiles reasoned to himself briefly that Dark was nearly the same age as him. Regardless of intelligence and maturity, the both of them were still children. Maybe Dark was getting upset again, and was unintentionally voicing his fear of abandonment, which Mephiles had learned must have recurred enough that it resulted in Dark's odd and tough to explain attachment to him (and Tape, of course), which was a very stark contrast to his bitterness and distrusting nature towards the rest of the world, Shadow especially.

Dark blinked and saw how much he was startling Mephiles, who was now trying to explain with quick gestures to Shadow to not get in the middle of this, as it would no doubt cause more trouble between them.

There was flicker of something behind Dark's eyes, and a shift happened, for the first time in a while. Sad confusion etched on his features as he was getting visibly upset again.

"_... Why are you backing away..?_" He said in a much softer tone than before, letting his arms go limp and hang in front of him. "_... I-I'm sorry... Don't go... Please, don't go..._ Please..."

Mephiles could see that Dark was just scared to some degree. That deep down, primal kind of scared that you can't help sometimes.

"I'm not going..." He reassured, shaking his head slightly. "I just got startled..."

"_... Don't leave me, too..._" Dark said quietly, almost too softly to be heard as he stared at the floor.

* * *

Dire ran his eyes across the large group of varying Darks, taking in various noticeable weaknesses among them. Some held their gaze, not daring to drop it, while a few of them, like Unease and Paranoia, shied to the back of the group, peering over the braver Darks' shoulders.

Poor Logic was still as frozen as a Windows computer with that infamous "Blue Screen Of Death". It appeared that he could not respond at all to what was happening. It just didn't make sense to him.

Sympathy looked at him sadly, knowing that if Logic couldn't lead them, then they were on their own.

He perked his ears up suddenly and looked around wildly, realizing one of them that was still conscious was still unaccounted for in their group. Euphie...

_Oh, no..._ He said to himself in a rush of panic.

Then he saw that Euphie was sitting next to the motionless Rage on the ground, shaking at his arm with his tiny clawed hands, trying to get him to move.

Everyone and everything fell silent one after another as they all stared in silent terror at how out in the open Euphie was.

Nearly everyone's blood ran cold when Dire looked at where they were looking and formed the same smirk he's had before something bad happened. The more easily upset and sensitive emotions actually looked close to fainting, with one at least doing so.

"Oh, my! What a darling child! You shouldn't let him out of your sight, not even for a moment..." Dire said in a false sweet voice, disappearing again and reappearing in a dark poof behind the small hedgehog. Euphie's eyes went wide and his quills and fur raised up. "Heck... Don't even lose sight of me! It might cost you!"

At the sound of the screech of terror from Euphie, Logic finally twitched. His eyes blinked and his pupils shrunk a bit as he tilted his head to look at them blankly, before his hung open mouth closed, and his teeth clenched angrily. He was suddenly livid and before anyone could respond, he launched himself at Dire in a Homing Attack of such speed, he actually caused a Sonic Boom!

"_You don't touch him! Ever!_" Logic roared, so furious now that it baffled the rest of them. Dire even blinked in surprise as he was knocked down.

"I have to admit... I didn't see that coming..." He shrugged getting up. "Maybe you'll be a good challenge after all. Heh... It only took dispatching one of your companions, utterly terrifying the rest, and threatening to hurt the kid to get a response from you... Kinda slow to step up, but... Eh..."

Logic responded by doing a sweeping kick, and knocking Dire off his feet. 


	10. Prob'ly Change Titles When Comp Is Fixed

Dark was waiting somewhat patiently for Mephiles' visit. It was about the only thing he had to look forward to right about now. At least the hedgehog cared enough about him to be bothered to take time out of his day to see him. Even if Shadow did have to be dragged along...

Laying on the bed on his back, hands behind his head, legs crossed leisureably, eyes closed, he listened to the sounds around him.

He opened his eyes and blinked, and could have sworn that he saw something so surprising, so shocking and so unnerving, that he tensed, jumped and inched away so quickly that he fell off the side of the bed and landed awkwardly on his tail, almost crimping it. He kept scooting back.

"_Th-this isn't possible... You're s-supposed to be dead!_" He said in a strained voice, pointing frantically. He looked around wildly for something, anything. He regretted jumping back, because a pitcher of water was on the nightstand, and he wasn't close enough. The call for help button was out of range too. "_Y-you're dead! I-I... I've lost it! Th-that's it!_" He tried to reason to himself, starting to laugh out loud, as if to deny it.

Identical eyes stared back with such curiosity, so out of character, that it made Dark's skin crawl.

"_Tell me, 'Iblis'..._" He said with a frown, putting emphasis on the name to imply that he was well aware that it was impossible to be seeing him. "_Are you a ghost right now..? A hallucination..? A visual disturbance that manifested in your form for me..? Or a product of something else..?_"

"Iblis" shrugged, looking quite dull in stark comparison to their last encounter.

"_I'm whatever you want me to be..._" He said. "_If I look like your brother... It's because you want me to..._"

"_I do not!_" Dark snapped at him, getting to his feet quickly. "_I don't care what you say! If I dictate your existence, then I should be able to make you go away!_" Almost childishly, his covered his eyes with his hands and hid them as he counted backwards from ten. Then he lifted them and peered around the room, seeing that it was empty again.

He sighed in relief.

"_If only it were that easy..._" A voice sounded off near his ear, causing him to tense up with a startled cry.

Dark spun around, and sure enough, the illusion had yet to leave. Real or not, Dark felt very uncomfortable with this visual presence, and even more so when it gave a concerned look, which seemed so out of character that a nervous twitch settled in Dark's body briefly.

"_Please go away..._" He groaned, stepping away again, holding his head. "_I have enough problems right now without seeing things that aren't there..._"

"_Not like I can do anything about it..._" The illusion half closed his eyes, stretching his arms a bit, then taking a seat in a chair, pulling his feet up, resting an arm on his knees, and placing is head on all that, watching Dark with mild interest.

Dark blinked and tried to suppress another twitch.

"_Maybe if I try to ignore you more... You'll go away..._" He shook his head and looked away, fur still staying straight up.

Truth was, he could still sense him there, and he knew it was going to be hard to ignore it.

He just couldn't wait for anyone else to show up, even if it was Shadow...

* * *

"Hey, Dark, check this out." Mephiles shoved a small cylindrical container into his hands, which was filled with numerous little items in several shapes and many colors. Whatever it was, it gave off a light, somewhat sweet scent.

He shrugged and gave it back.

"_Okay... What is it..?_" He stole a glance to his right and could still see that the illusion that was watching. Mephiles briefly looked in the same direction, wondering why Dark's gaze kept flickering there.

Mephiles looked back at him.

"Try one..."

"_What...?_"

"Eat a piece..." Mephiles shook the canister. "How about a red one?"

Dark's interest was drawn to a square crimson one, which reminded him of the red emerald's bright color.

"_What is it..?_" Dark half closed his eyes, still not convinced.

"Candy. The red ones are cinnamon." The hedgehog explained. "And that kind is peppermint, that's spearmint, and those kinds are fruit flavored... Take one... Go on..." Mephiles urged.

Finally, Dark took one... and immediately spat it out, Mephiles using his powers to catch it before it hit the floor.

"_You didn't say it would burn!_" Dark barked, raising his quills, glaring and baring his teeth as he leaned forward towards Mephiles.

"It's not a heat burn..." The hedgehog explained nervously, stepping away from the bed. "That's a spice, it's a flavor that's supposed to do that... Uh... It's like the opposite of mint... It doesn't really b-burn..."

"_Is there ever a time when you_ don't _scare him?_" "Iblis" said in a level voice, looking up at the ceiling.

Dark had had it with trying to ignore him by now, and seized the canister from Mephiles' hands, chucking it at the illusion with as much force as possible, denting it as the lid popped off and the bag inside fell out, spilling a few candies in the floor as Dark stared at the now empty space in front of him, trembling now from the quick adrenaline rush he had gotten from that.

Mephiles stared in wide eyed, open mouthed shock, the piece of candy Dark had spat out earlier having finally hit the floor when he released his mental hold on it.

Since they were alone in the room at the moment (Shadow and Rouge absent for whatever reason), Dark decided it was good time to start explaining.

"_I... I'm the only one who could hear that... Right..?_" He blinked, not tearing his eyes from the vacant chair. He didn't hear an answer, so he continued. "_... And... I'm the only one who saw that... Aren't I?_"

He finally looked at Mephiles, who looked about two steps from being terrified. Mephiles broke his stare and looked at him, his silence already giving Dark the answer, which he was unsure as to which one was a better one to receive.

"_I think... I think I'm hallucinating again..._" He said slowly, frowning slightly as he held his ears back. After about a minute... He started giggling. Which evolved into a raspy sounding type of laughter, as if he was trying hard not let it get louder than a wheeze. It didn't get much louder than that.

if Mephiles was spooked before, he was now certain his number in quills just decreased.

Dark fell back against the bed, gasping in between laughs, as if he found this all to be all too hilarious.

"_Of course! Ha! It makes p-perfect sense!_" He snorted, trying to speak clearly through his laughter. "_Cabin fever! Heh! I'm going stir crazy! That's all!_" Then the laughter stopped abruptly as he stared in confusion as he sat up. "_Why am I laughing..? This isn't funny at all..._"

Mephiles just blinked, shaking his head in concerned bewilderment.

* * *

Neither of them spoke about the incident in the days afterwards. Both were just as shocked as the other, and Mephiles knew that Dark would be embarrassed if the subject was brought to the attention of others.

_Maybe he's right... Maybe he's just getting anxious from being cooped up..._Mephiles thought to himself as he moved the red piece on the board. He was losing. Rouge already had four kings across the board, and he was down to five pieces, with one king in play, which he realized too late that he left it wide open for attack.

"You usually do better than this..." Shadow pointed out. "This is one of the games you're best at..."

"I miss Dark..." Mephiles muttered, shifting the king back on his next move, wondering if Rouge ignored it on purpose.

"You see him nearly everyday."

"It's not the same..." Mephiles shook his head, watching Rouge jump one of his single pieces. "This wasn't what I had in mind for him getting used to things. He's already been trapped for most of his life... I can only imagine being confined to a single room is going to further damage his perception of things..." He jumped a piece. "... It was just an infection..." He added softly. "He was supposed to get better in couple of days..."

Suddenly, his eyes shot wide open as his ears perked up, quills and fur on end as he got very stiff.

"Are you alright..?" Rouge asked with concern.

"Take cover... I think we're about to have an earthquake..." Mephiles said in a very serious and calm voice.

"How are-?" Shadow started before being cut off.

"DO IT! NOW!" The hedgehog snapped.

No sooner had they done so (three Chao and a cat included, Kai having grabbed the panicked cat by the tail to pull him with then) under the table, with Mephiles making a dome shield around them as a precaution, did an earthquake start up.

When it stopped, he let the shield down, and scrambled out from under the table with his friends just in time, learning a moment later that the bookcase had toppled, and it's weight was close to making the table break. Some broken dishes, moved furniture, and fallen picture frames aside, everything seemed to be in good condition.

"Did you just predict that..?" Shadow said slowly, starting to shove the bookcase back upright.

"I... I dunno how..." Mephiles stammered. He was still recovering from the shock of how fast this all happened. "How _did_ I know th-that was going to happen..? I've never s-sensed an earthqu-quake before..."

"To be fair, this is probably the second or third one you've ever seen..." Shadow pushed the bookcase back up and started to help Rouge pick up the books and display items that had fallen to the floor, a little disappointed to see that his model vehicle had snapped into three pieces.

The power flickered back on, and Mephiles immediately switched on the TV, landing on a local station to find the situation of things. Apparently, one of the broken continents had settle back into place, and the effect was similar to a real earthquake. And by that, it meant damages. Lots of damages...

"... We need to ch-check on Dark..."

* * *

His head hurt.

Did something hit it..?

He coughed as the dust settled, wondering what just happened.

His head still hurt...

He pulled away from where he was, shaking plaster dust and drywall powder from his body as he tried to get his bearings.

Did the ceiling just fall on him..?

He pressed a hand to his head and found himself staring at a reddened palm. Was he bleeding..?

What happened? Why couldn't he remember anything prior to several minutes ago..?

Where was he? What had he been doing..? Why was he here..? And more importantly...

...

...

...

...

...

...What was his name again..? 


	11. Still ain't fixed

He looked around himself, taking in the damage.

He must have not been on the ground floor before this, because the ceiling above him had a sizable chunk missing, presumably the floor that was underneath him that was now crushing whatever else was beneath.

He cringed. He hoped that nothing living was caught there.

He tried to suppress a cough, having found a few minutes ago that it seemed to worsen the pain in his head.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried hard to think. To remember something. Anything.

His ear twitched at a light clatter, and he snapped his eyes open to see what happened this time. Another. Something bounced off his head, making him look up, seeing more loose pieces of the floor above him starting to fall.

His eyes went wide as he realized that he needed to get out of this place as soon as possible, unless he wanted to pull himself out of a pile of plaster, wood, metal, tile and who knows what else, again.

About five seconds after getting to his feet and against the remains of a wall with what must have been a window, a heavy chunk of concrete and metal bars slammed down to where he had been.

After the initial shock of how lucky he had been to be spared whatever injury that might have resulted in that, he exhaled and turned his attention to the wall. Or what was left to call it that.

It seemed to be a way out, and at the way things were looking right now, he needed to leave this hazard trap and perhaps sit somewhere safe to take the time to remember what he could.

A few minutes later, he was sitting on the ground not too far away from the partly collapsed building, back against the trunk as he tried to stay out of the sun for some unexplainable reason.

The light just seemed to make his eyes hurt. Maybe he hadn't gone outside in a long time, and he just wasn't used to it...

Outside from where, exactly?

That building didn't strike him as a place to live. What had he been doing there, anyway? Was there anyone else? Did anyone know he was there? Did anyone there know him?

Headache again. Ouch. Maybe he was straining himself at the moment...

He rubbed his hand against the side of his face when he felt something run down it, and realized that he was indeed bleeding from some kind of injury to his head. He pressed his hand to it again, only able to apply pressure to it at the most, and could only hope that it stops bleeding before it was a bigger problem.

He didn't know how long had passed, but his thoughts were swiftly interrupted by a voice.

At first, he thought to ignore it, figuring that it probably didn't concern him. As it went on, it became quite frantic. It sounded as if whoever had the voice was looking for someone, and couldn't find them. How sad...

Not long after, a couple more voices joined in, considerably calmer than the first. The first raised in pitch, sounding panicked and hardly audible, now.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he looked around the tree to see what was going on.

"He's the only one unaccounted for! The _only_ one!" An odd looking hedgehog (that's what it looked like to him.) was obviously distraught. "That's where his room used to be! Used to! As in it's gone! Do you see anything? I don't! Nothing!"

"Look, calm down..." A black hedgehog said in a surprisingly level voice, contrasting the other. "Just because he hasn't been found yet, doesn't mean he won't be. There are much worse... Uh... Eh..." He trailed off when the other hedgehog looked horrified and the white bat accompanying them glared disapprovingly. "I-I meant that... He probably got out alright... The chances of him being crushed-"

"_Crushed?_" The odd one squeaked in a strained voice, shaking now.

"Maybe not a good word choice... I meant that he's probably alright."

The other hedgehog didn't seem so convinced.

Watching them, he looked away for a moment and noticed something odd. His hands were covered in the same light blue stuff as the odd hedgehog. Feet too. In fact, he had the same dark blue fur covering the rest of him, and a white patch of fur as both hedgehogs.

Perhaps they knew him? What are the chances, after all, that he could resemble someone, and neither of them know each other... Besides right now, of course...

He coughed again, unable to fight back that bothersome tickle in his throat and lungs any longer, immediately drawing attention to himself.

What happened next was too fast to wrap his sore mind around. The odd one was kneeling in front of him a matter of seconds, catching him by the shoulders, asking questions in rapid-fire succession. None of which he could answer, due to being unable to remember anything that could help.

He noticed that the odd one kept using the word "Dark", as if it were a name.

He stared in blank confusion as the strange hedgehog's attention was drawn to his head.

"Oh, no, Dark!" He gasped. "You're bleeding! Something must have fallen and struck you really hard!" He waited for a response, and realized that the hurt one was silent, staring at him with wide eyes. He noticed that he had yet to speak, and didn't break his gaze. "Huh..? You're not in shock, are you?" The hedgehog was clearly worried. "Nothing's broken, right? Are you hurt badly? Dark..?"

Something about that make something click with him.

"_..._" He paused. Then he said, in a small voice: "_... Is that... That's my name..?_"

The identical one let go of him, falling back a bit, surprised not being a strong enough word to describe that.

"Oh, no..." He muttered, shaking his head and speaking louder as he looked back at him in near tears. "No. Y-you just got them back! That's not fair!"

Figuring that must be his name, "Dark" cringed. This wasn't the first time..?

He flinched, clutching his hands to his head as a sharp pain shot through it like an arrow. It hurt so much that he stiffened and toppled on his side, curling up as he forced back the urge to cry out in agony.

"Oh, dear... Let me help you with that!" He heard that hedgehog shout. He didn't know what he meant by that, and as he was already confused, in pain, and overwhelmed... He waved the hand from the side that didn't hurt as badly and tried to keep him away, moaning in protest. "Please, Dark! I can make some of that go away! I'm trying to help!"

Something clicked again. Something about that urgent tone. Worried. It made him feel bad. Not himself... But for the hedgehog. He felt as if something bad would happen to the other if this continue like this...

He let his arm drop, panting a little as he half opened his eyes to look at him. The corner of the hedgehog's mouth twitched, as if about to smile at his cooperation, but checked himself when he realized that there was more to worry about.

"... You can't just freak out like that..." He said in a light manner of scolding. "... It effects both of us... And... If you're scared... I get scared..."

"_... What... What are you going to do..?_" He still didn't understand. He also wondered why his own voice sounded so rough... Almost as if he was growling.

"Just heal as much as I can before I hurt myself... We need to stop the bleeding, first..."

He started to question how that was going to be done, but was cut off when the pain subsided noticeably when the hedgehog touched his hand to the injury. Then the hedgehog inhaled sharply, holding his other hand to his own head, right about where Dark was hurt as well. He seemed to be in pain now, too.

The black hedgehog quickly intervened, prying the other one's hand off Dark's head, the pain coming back, but on a smaller scale.

"Hey!" The odd one shouted, trying to pull his hand free. "Shadow! I wasn't done!"

"Yes. You were." "Shadow" said calmly, not fazed by the other one's frantic attempt to get free. "The moment you look like you're in pain... I think that's time to stop."

Dark coughed again as he sat up. No one seemed to notice that his eyes watered a little from the sting in his lungs.

He looked at Shadow, trying to see if something was familiar with him...

Nothing.

Not a surprise by now.

He cringed at the annoyed look that he had been given from Shadow. Did he do something wrong..?

"_... I'm sorry... But I-I really don't remember any of you..._" He said in a soft voice, looking at the ground, visibly distressed about this for the first time. "_... I... I can't remember anything else, for that matter, as well..._"

"Not even me..?" The odd one looked back at him with a hard to read expression. He didn't like the answer he got back. "C'mon... You've _got_ to remember me!" He pulled his hands free and got in front of Dark again. "Remember? I'm Mephiles! Mephy? You call me that all the time! Mephy Boy? Hedgehog?" "Mephiles" was starting to get frantic, and started to name of some of the downright mean terms in a higher voice, which kind of alarmed Dark. "Stupid Hedgehog? Idiot? Dolt?" Did he really call him those? "You can't forget me! N-not after all that-_every_thing that happened!" He caught Dark by the shoulders again. "th-there has to be _some_thing you can remember! You're a vegetarian! You hate bright lights! Green is not your favorite color! You have a cat! You're an element! You like cantaloupe! Fire makes you uneasy! You can do a spindash! You're faster and smarter than me!"

"Meph..." Shadow started to say slowly, trying to intervene.

"You're bipolar! You have occasional migraines! You sleepwalk! You hate hospitals! You can't swim!" Mephiles still rattling off, hoping to strike something. Dark simply looked like he thought he was insane, trying to work himself away from him and Shadow tried again, not in any real hurry, curious to hear some of the most well kept secrets of Dark.

"Mephiles..?"

"You like tea, and your favorite way to have it is oolong with two level teaspoons of sugar!"

Shadow made the mental note to use one teaspoon, and have green tea from now on.

"Uh... Mephiles..?" Shadow tried once more. He wasn't heard.

"We're brothers! _How_ could you forget me? How!"

The bat finally stepped in, prying Mephiles' hands from Dark's shoulders.

"Don't you think that this might be overwhelming and a bit too much for him at the moment?" She offered to the distraught hedgehog. "You telling him too much all at once when he can't remember it will probably confuse him, or worse..."

"This is bad, Rouge! Bad, bad, bad, bad bad!" Mephiles shook his head. "He doesn't remember anything!"

"_... I remember my name..._" Dark said slowly, looking to the side.

"Only because I told you!" Mephiles snapped at him unintentionally. He blinked, and shook his head. "I'm sorry... I sh-shouldn't be yelling at you... This isn't your f-fault..."

"Maybe it's not all a bad thing if he's got amnesia..." Shadow said. "It might even be better for him..."

"It didn't work for you..." Mephiles shook his head again. "You said so yourself... Multiple times... Besides..." Mephiles looked sidewise at Dark again before gesturing at Shadow to lean forward to whisper in his ear. Which happened.

"... Huh... Anything? Like a sponge?" Shadow raised an eyebrow.

Mephiles nodded.

"... And you know what _that_ was like..." He said. "... I don't wanna go through that again..."

"_... Go through what..?_" Dark tilted his head in confusion.

Mephiles shot a look at Shadow (kind of a "don't you even..." look) again before shaking his head.

"... Uh... Shoot... A-are you you sure you don't remember?" He was answered by a very certain and non-hesitating nod, to which he mentally groaned at. "... Uh... I'm not even sh-sure if it's a smart idea to tell you it..." That only seemed to make him more interested, which was the opposite of what Mephiles wanted. He tried to change the direction of the subject. "Before we do anything else, we need to make sure you're accounted for, and have you checked!"

* * *

"Strangely, he's the only one moderately affected by this..." Thizon carefully touched the bump on Dark's head, Dark crying out in surprise and slapping his hand away.

"_Moderately?_" Mephiles snapped, waving his arms around. "Moderately! He doesn't even know who any of us are! Wouldn't memory loss rank a bit higher!"

"It's moderate because everyone else faired quite a bit better than him..." Thizon said a bit flatly. "And my diagnosis can only be a loose guess, because most of the equipment and most of my supplies are buried under what used to be the hospital..."

"Loose..?"

"As in I can only confirm what caused the amnesia, and not the underlying effects that kind of bump to the head will exhibit... Follow the pen with your eyes..." He directed the last bit to Dark, who did. "Normal... Pupil dilation and contraction, also normal... Pupils equal size..."

"Why are you saying all this out loud?"

"My clipboard was also under all that, I'll remember this better if I say it out loud..."

Dark coughed for the forgotten number of times, and Mephiles finally pointed it out.

"You okay? You've coughed a lot since we found you..."

Dark shrugged, then his eye twitched before coughing again. To be honest, he didn't feel well, and wondered if he really was in... What was the term that hedgehog used earlier? Shock? Whatever that really meant...

Sliding his hand to his face, he was shocked to find that it felt warmer than he had expected. When he commented on that, Mephiles quickly reached a hand to his forehead, at first flinching as if he expected it to be shoved away, then holding it there briefly.

"You've got a slight fever, but it's probably because it's cold outside..." Mephiles looked at the collapsed building, frowning slightly. "Where's everyone gonna stay now that it's pretty much destroyed?"

"Yeah, that's going to be months of rebuilding before it's even usable again..." Shadow cringed.

"I suppose it's a good thing that I updated the digital records this morning..." Thizon's round ears folded back a bit. "My guess is that everyone will be transferred to available local hospitals at best..."

"What about Dark..?" Mephiles said, wide eyed. "This is the only hospital that would be willing to treat him..."

"To be fair, we were only housing and monitoring the infected... We have yet to uncover the cause and how to counter it..." Thizon explained. "We can only advise that you keep nighttime exposure to a minimum, because it seems to worsen at night. Do not let him be exposed to the night outside. Lock up the house, shut the blinds and draw the curtains closed."

"Are you saying that we can take him home..?" Shadow was the one who said this. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"He's not going to be sent even further away from us!" Mephiles snapped, grabbing Dark's arm and pulling him a couple steps closer. "Not when he's like this! We can handle taking extra precautions! Really! Don't send him away!"

* * *

It was now a couple of hours later, back at the house. It was very strange to Dark, to know that he was supposed to know this place better than he did now. Mephiles tried his best to trigger even the most minor of things.

"C'mon... Cantaloupe?" Mephiles tried again. "Even if you never admitted it, I know it's possibly your favorite, because you take every chance you can to get some. You even asked for a square one once!"

"_Square._" Dark said, indicating a box shape with his hands before looking very perplexed, as if to wonder why he did that.

Mephiles smiled slightly and nodded.

"Yeah... Just like that. Oh, look! It's Tape!"

Looking in the direction Mephiles was, Dark assumed Tape was the cat curled up on the couch, who was now yawning.

"Tape's your cat. You guys are about as inseparable as you and me." Mephiles explained. "He was really tiny when you found him in that alley with the white Chaos Emerald. You threw the puppy eyes, and we couldn't say no."

Tape stretched and looked at him with yellow eyes, as if to say "Bout time you got home.", and hopped off the couch to head over to him, mewed loudly, as if asking to be picked up.

Dark just stared.

* * *


	12. Not Fixed Yet

Dark woke up panicked in the middle of the night. His cries for help punctuated the night air, awakening the rest of the house inhabitants in no time at all.

By the time everyone else arrived... Mephiles was already trying to calm him down.

"... It's okay... Calm down... It's over... It was probably a bad dream, Dark..."

Dark shoved himself into a sitting position and ran a hand along his side quickly. He looked at his palm, then sighed in relief, relaxing a bit.

"_... I th-thought I was going to die..._" He breathed, not noticing Mephiles going tense from hearing that. "_... I was bleeding... I couldn't move... He tore my side open, and j-just let me bleed... He looked kinda like me... But sounded different... I d-didn't like how I felt around him..._" Dark looked up and realized that the room was very much the same as the one in the nightmare.

He looked at Mephiles, who had a rather strange expression on his face. In fact, the atmosphere of the room itself seemed to have gone unearthly silent. No one else made a sound as Dark tried to find out for himself what was the matter with everyone.

Then it hit him...

"_... Oh... God... It... That really did happen... Didn't it..?_" He said in a low voice, shaking his head slightly, hoping he was wrong.

Mephiles was trembling a little, eyes wide and hardly focused, tears forming at the corners. He slid off the couch and ended up sitting on his knees, blinking.

He took a deep breath and explained in a weak voice: "I-It was right here... You l-looked like you were already d-dead... Just st-staring... Half closed eyes, not b-blinking... I c-couldn't see you breathe... I f-found out later that you lost s-so much b-bl-blood that your heart stopped beating at least once b-before they got you st-stable..."

"Meph..." Shadow said. "... C'mon... Uh... You really shouldn't be-"

"Of all the th-things..." Mephiles continued as if Shadow hadn't spoken at all. Oddly, he sounded very much annoyed now, which startled his friends in the sudden change in attitude. He got a little louder. "All the good we've had... And _that_ is th-the first thing you remember? You couldn't live in a temporary bliss, or think everything has always been perfect? It's not fair... It's not fair!" Mephiles' eyes gained a purplish tint, glowing around the edges as his quills raised up as if blown by a fan beneath him and parts of his Aura sparked into view.

Dark was startled by this, as he had no memory of what Mephiles was capable of doing. Seeing the Aura spark off him and crack a vase, Dark yelled in surprise and scooted back to get away from him.

Mephiles blinked and everything was back to normal. Eyes no longer glowing and quills back in place.

"Oh... Oh my... I-I'm sorry..." He apologized, seeing that Dark was rattled from that unintentional display of power. "My powers s-spark if I'm really upset, t-terrified or angry... I c-can't really control it..."

Dark looked at him timidly. It was very disquieting to Mephiles to see Dark stare at him this way. As if he were afraid of him. Dark. Afraid of him. Dark. Afraid. Of him.

He grew tense as this sunk in. It made him feel terrible. It made his skin crawl. His ears fell a few degrees and he pulled away, bringing himself a good space away from Dark.

Dark was scared of him..? Well, Dark wasn't himself, as well... So he shouldn't really be this upset about it... But seeing the unnerved expression on Dark's face, directed at _him_...

He blinked and tried to suppress a shudder. Perhaps it would be better if he just slept in Rouge and Shadow's room this night..?/p>

* * *

And of course, Mephiles couldn't hope to fall asleep at all. Not when he now knew that he had made Dark scared.

He rolled over and stared at the wall, just thinking.

_... Why does something always happen..? Hasn't he already been through enough..? If he was never infected with that whatever, he wouldn't have been in the hospital... And if I wasn't such a mother hen, he would have never been there in the first place... This is my fault..._ He thought to himself sadly. _... I just want Dark back... I don't care if he's mean again, I just want him back..._

He sat up and rubbed at his eyes, keeping his claws away from them. There was no way he would be able to fall asleep for the rest of the night now. At least not as easy. And he was certain that three Chao stealing his pillow wasn't helping, either.

He pulled himself up off the ground using part of the frame of bed to get up. He leaned against the mattress, folding his arms and resting his head on them.

"... Rouge..?" He whispered, not wanting to be too loud. With ears like her's, he didn't need to be so loud anyway. "... Rouge... I... Uh... I can't sleep... Rouge..?"

In a few minutes, after she was finally up, he was bow in the middle of explaining how he felt.

"It's not your fault... There was no way for you to know this would happen." She assured him, reaching over and placing a hand on his head and moved it from side to side slowly, petting him carefully. Something that hadn't happened (or had been needed) in a while.

He smiled contentedly and closed his eyes, purring in a temporary trance. When she moved her hand away, he blinked and blushed slightly, giggling nervously.

"Heh... I'm sorry... I still like it when I get petted..." He couldn't hide his slight embarrassment of it, and merely pulled himself up onto the bed and sat at the foot of it. He put a hand to his forehead and brushed it lightly. "... I think Mom used to do that, but since we were hedgehogs, she used her tongue or something..." His cheeks got a little more red and he laughed a bit more before lapsing back into his sad disposition. "... But he ended up at the hospital because I kept insisting... He ran away because I was too persistent... And he's scared of me now because my powers sparked because I was upset..." Mephiles sunk a bit more. "What if he never gets his memories back and I never get Dark back again..?"

"He'll still be there..." She tried reasoning.

Mephiles shook his head.

"No... I mean what if he's never the same again? And he has to learn everything again? Like what he likes and doesn't like. Or-"

"Shadow lost his memory too, and he got it back." Rouge reminded him. "He was almost the same way. Didn't remember too much about any of us, much less himself. He just went with everything, and sometimes something would spark back, even for a moment..."

"But didn't he also get very disturbed by all that bad stuff, and started to doubt being really who he was because of all those androids that egg guy built, and some aliens told him a few twisted truths and he nearly destroyed the planet in the process?" Mephiles rattled off with a hint of worry.

"I highly doubt that's going to happen again... I'm sure Dark's not part alien..." Rouge sighed, shaking her head. "Just give him time, and be easy on him. Don't try to force him to remember, or it'd do more harm than good."

"He doesn't even want to be near me..." Mephiles let his ears droop even more. "... I could 'hear' it... I really freaked him out..."

In the short silence afterward, both the hedgehog and the bat twitched thief ears at a sound at the bedroom door. It wasn't a knock, but simply a quiet vocal sound. That they both could hear.

Having a very good idea who it could be, Rouge pulled the door open as Mephiles hid behind her almost shyly.

Dark was on the other side, standing a bit shakily as he clutched his pillow and blankets in his hands, face a little paler than usual.

"_... I don't want to be left in there..._" He said in a quiet voice, looking at the ground. "_... I don't like the feeling I get... My fur won't go down..._" Sure enough, the fur down his back was on end as well as his shoulder quills. "_... Don't make me stay in there..._" He said, half pleadingly, looking up at Mephiles, who was trying to not get noticed. "_... I saw something... But it's gone now..._" He added, looking almost embarrassed now.

Mephiles pulled out from behind Rouge, looking concerned, forgetting that he was trying to stay hidden.

"... You saw something..?" He asked carefully. Dark nodded slowly, not looking up. Mephiles wondered breifly if it was the same thing he might have seen back at the hospital. Not like Dark could tell him right now, however."... What was it..? If you don't mind me asking..."

Without hesitation, Dark said: "_The one in my dream..._"

He didn't realize right away that there was an awkward silence between the bat and the hedgehog. They didn't realize Shadow was listening as well, but had his back to them, so it was just assumed that he was asleep.

"... Dark..." Mephiles said quietly, shaking his head, looking a bit startled. "... Dark... That's not possible... You... He's g-gone, he died..."

"_But I saw him..._" Dark protested, shaking his head. "_He was there. I don't want to be left in there!_"

Mephiles was very wide awake now. He knew it was impossible for Iblis to really be here. Not only was he supposed to dead, but Mephiles was sure he could sense his presence is he was still around.

"... Did he... What was he doing..?" He wasn't trying to confirm it. He just wanted know what Dark saw. He knew this wasn't first time Dark saw something that wasn't there. But he didn't know the nature of Dark's hallucinations.

"_... Just staring..._"

"Staring? He wasn't... That's all?"

"_... Almost looked sad..._" Dark said in a soft voice. "_Didn't talk. He just stared... I don't want to be left in there..._" He said again, sounding urgent now. "_I can't sleep... Not in there..._"

"You don't... You can sleep in-Can he sleep in here?" Mephiles looked at Rouge.

"You honestly expect me to say 'no'?"

"Well, it's _your_ room..." Mephiles looked at the floor. "I thought I should at least ask... So... That's a 'yes', isn't it?"

Nod.

Mephiles gave a small smile and wasted no time in helping Dark pick a place to set his bedding down on, having to shoo Tape away once or twice until it was ready.

"_... Why does he keep getting close to me..?_" Dark asked, Tape quickly getting on his lap after he sat down.

"He's yours." Mephiles tried explaining again. "He was tiny when you found him. Probably thinks you're his Dad or something..."

"_His what..?_" Dark looked very confused.

"His Dad..." Mephiles wasn't really paying enough attention at the moment to catch it before he got too far as he straightened out one side of the blanket. "Y'know, his parent or guardian. Everyone alive has at least one. Someone who looks after and raises-" He stopped suddenly. He realized that even if Dark wasn't suffering from amnesia, he wouldn't understand the concept all too well. He'd be surprised if he could grasp it at all, being that Dark technically had no parents, due to being a side effect of science. Well... No physical beings to call parents, anyway.

Mephiles fought back the urge to rip his own quills out for even sparking the idea to him. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid...

"_Where's yours..?_"

Mephiles was slightly relieved that he had been asked _that_ instead of what he dreaded.

"Honestly... I don't really remember my father much..." Mephiles said truthfully, relaxing a bit. "And my mom... Uh... She's been gone for years... So Shadow and Rouge take care of me now..."

"_... Oh..._" Dark said quietly. He blinked before asking: "_... And mine..?_"

This is what Mephiles was afraid of. _How_ was he supposed to answer that?

Dark was waiting curiously for the answer.

"Dark... I-I really don't know how to tell you this..." Mephiles started, shaking his head, watching the expression on Dark's face fall a bit. He cursed himself mentally. "But... Uh... Y-you-"

"You're an orphan. Your parents died when you were born." Shadow's voice suddenly entered the conversation.

Mephiles looked at him strangely as Dark tilted his head a bit, as if just noticing him.

"Shadow... Can you help me find another pillow in the garage, since my Chao have mine..?" Mephiles said slowly, narrowing his eyes.

"_Can I help?_"

"I just need Shadow, really..." Mephiles sent a slight glare at the hedgehog in question. "Why don't you get to know Rouge? She's nice."

He got up, walked over to Shadow, grabbed his wrist, pulled him up and out of the room, and down the hall into the garage.

Once there, he rounded on Shadow.

"_What_ are you doing!" Mephiles was trying hard not to be loud enough to be heard in the other room.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to tell him he's not natural?" Shadow reasoned.

"But now he's gonna think he actually _did_ have parents!"

"As opposed to thinking he shouldn't exist?"

"What do you care? You hate him!" Mephiles snapped. "You've made that very clear!"

"Can't exactly hate a guy who doesn't even know he hates me too." Shadow reasoned, shrugging.

Mephiles blinked.

"I still didn't like you telling him that..." He shook his head and started looking through the shelves, trying to find a pillow. "I don't like lying to him..."

"The scientists created him, right?"

"Yeah..." Mephiles said slowly, opening a box.

"And they are dead, aren't they?" Shadow looked through another box.

"Need I remind you of the details?"

"So technically... The ones that created him, his 'parents'... Are dead. Not a lie." Shadow tossed him a pillow still wrapped in plastic.

"If that's the case... Then Dark's related to that princess as well..." Mephiles sounded as if he thought this was ridiculous. "Not by blood of course, but that technically makes them siblings, if we follow that logic..." He looked at Shadow before realizing something. "Why do we keep a box of pillows in the garage? What do we _have_ a box of pillows anyway?" Looking at the one his hands, he flinched. "Wha-Why do they have _bunnies_ printed on them?"

"They were on sale... There's one with puppies if you prefer something less sissy-ish." 


	13. Computer Still No Fixy

Hadn't left much Author's Note due to it being difficult to do so through an iPod, so I'm using my mom's computer to say this.

A few comments:

Dunno when my computer is gonna be fixed.

Check out Reunions by transblitz1 . This is another TD based story, and it's starting pretty good ^^

Next Chapter, I hope to go back to Logic and them.

Enjoy ^^

* * *

It was probably two in the morning until at least Dark fell asleep. That made Mephiles a bit relieved, as he was silently worried that staying up so late right at this time would affect Dark as far as the problem went.

He had a bit of an idea as to why Dark probably felt more comfortable on his side, even. Instinct probably prevented him from laying on his back, as common with many creatures (their front having many vulnerable areas, like belly, chest and throat...), and he was probably worried that sleeping on his front would trigger another bad memory, now that he was aware of a fraction of what happened...

Mephiles couldn't help but smile a little at what he ended up with: something that would make even a cat jealous. Arms drawn close, shielding his front and face, hands curled slightly and palms inward, and the rest of the body curled in something resembling a fetal position.

He looked quite content, even. Perhaps he wasn't going to have nightmares for the rest of the night..?

Unable to fall asleep at the moment himself, Mephiles sat there, half watching him as he thought to himself about what Dark had said earlier.

Maybe he had been startled or upset enough about the nightmare that his mind continued to be cruel to him, perhaps because he was half asleep, or just drained emotionally and physically?

But... Could Mephiles really call it cruel... If an illusion of Dark's former tormentor hadn't done anything remotely threatening? Dark stated that it was simply there. That's all. Just... there.

Before he could contemplate further, his sensitive ears picked up the softest change in Dark's breathing pattern. Then a quick inhale followed. Then a soft, uncomfortable and barely audible moan.

Checking the clock for a moment, Mephiles saw that a half hour had passed since Dark fell asleep. Was he being plagued by bad dreams again..?

Tossing his own blanket aside, Mephiles crawled over to Dark carefully and quietly, sitting down and leaning against the bed frame to support his back. He frowned slightly to himself once was able to see him a bit more, silently hating his inability to see clearly in the night.

It was hard to explain. Nothing seemed wrong, but at the same time, something didn't seem right.

For whatever numbered time this was, having lost track long ago, his placed a hand on Dark's forehead carefully, remembering how earlier, he had the beginnings of a fever. Mephiles tried to be careful enough to not wake him, but Dark's eyes opened a little, whatever small amount of light in the room reflecting a bit from them in a manner similar to a cat. Mephiles figured that was how he could see in the dark better than him.

Dark mumbled something pitifully about heat and shoved the blanket on him off, curling up more, shivering now.

He did have a fever, and Mephiles frowned slightly at him removing the blanket, especially since it was winter.

He pulled it on him again, only to have Dark shove it away again.

"Dark..." He whispered. "That fever's a little higher... You need to keep that on..."

"_... Huh... hot... go... go 'way..._" Dark mumbled, clearly not fully awake, as he slurred his words little.

"... I know... But you'll feel better if you break that fever before morning..." Mephiles said softly, keeping a hand on Dark's arm so he couldn't shove the blanket away again. "... Just go back to sleep, okay..? Please..?" He paused for a moment and added: "... Come to think of it, that one blanket might not be thick enough... I should-"

"_... No..._" Dark shook his head a little, trying to push himself off the floor. "_... Don't need it... Too hot..._"

Mephiles gave him a look of concern.

"Trust me, I've been sick enough to know what I'm talking about..." He said as Dark's body started to quiver, perhaps from trying to get up when he wasn't feeling well. Mephiles frowned in concern again, and decided that he should just put an arm around his shoulders and keep him supported if he so was intent on trying to get up.

As soon as he did, Dark leaned against him, as if finding him more comfortable than the floor, eyes drifting shut again as Mephiles twitched and tried to stutter a protest.

"Hey!" He said in a whisper, trying not wake Rouge and Shadow. "Y-you can't sleep on me! I can't sit like this all night, I wanna lay down! You're not the only one who's tired!"

He tried to push him back down to the floor so he'd could be laying, but Dark quickly brought both arms up and clung to him, not realizing that that was something he would never admit to doing if he was his usual self. Something that made Mephiles feel very awkward.

"Now, really!" Mephiles tried to pry him off. "I'm only going to be a few feet away... It's not like I'm leaving you all by yourself!"

"_... They go 'way 'round you..._" Dark muttered, shaking his head slowly.

"Who does what now?" Mephiles blinked, confused by his words. "What do you mean?"

"_... What makes me bad... Goes 'way 'round you..._"

Mephiles froze, a little startled by that. What was _that_ supposed to mean..?

"... Noth-You're not bad..." He tried to reassure as he stopped trying to shove him away now. "... Maybe a bit misguided... But you're not bad..." He shook his head. "... Get that terrible thought out of your mind... There's nothing wrong with you..." He half lied.

Dark looked up at him with half closed eyes, failing miserably at stifling a yawn, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment as he rolled his tongue and stretched a bit.

"_... Why was I in that hospital..?_"

Mephiles went a little stiff. For him being half asleep, Dark sure was able to understand things a bit too well. The hedgehog cursed to himself.

"... You were sick... Happens to all of us..." Mephiles didn't want to tell him the truth, that Dark was possibly suffering from some kind of personality altering affliction that hurt him at night. That it was expected to get worse the more he was exposed to the dark.

Dark didn't seem to question that, thankfully.

"_... You believe me... Right..?_" He added, yawning again. "_... 'bout what I saw..?_"

Mephiles didn't answer right away. He wanted to tell him "yes" simply because it would make Dark feel a little better, unaware as to why that made Mephiles uneasy. But he would be lying if he said that, as he could not see any possible reason that would allow it. He guessed that it was probably remnants of something... He couldn't hope to explain it, but he knew it was something... Something that Dark insisted on. As far as he was concerned now... He believed that Dark saw it, he just didn't believe he himself would see it anyway...

Pushing a curled hand into his forehead, closing his eyes, he took a breath as Dark waited for an answer.

"... I believe you saw something..." He said carefully, half opening his eyes and staring ahead. "... Who knows..? Maybe you can see more than I can understand..."

"_... What's that mean..?_" Dark frowned slightly.

"I don't know... You usually understand more than me..." Mephiles shook his head and lowered it. "... I don't even know what's going on anymore..." He added truthfully. Then he said in an all too quite voice that only he could really hear: "... I won't let anyone hurt you again..."

* * *

The soft glow of light greeted his senses and he opened his eyes, squeezing them shut quickly, rubbing at them to try and get rid of the burning feel for a moment.

He realized that he had spent the night sitting against the bed, which would explain the stiffness in his back. He pried an eye open and blushed, seeing that Dark was still leaning on and clinging to him, having fallen asleep there.

Shifting his eyes to the alarm clock, his face deepened in redness when he saw that it was ten in the morning! No doubt that Shadow and Rouge saw him, since as far as he could tell, they were not in the room... How embarrassing!

After trying to be as careful as possible, Mephiles managed to pry loose, and set him down without waking him. Which seemed an impossible miracle, much to his relief.

He quickly left the room, hoping that his face would stop blushing before anyone said anything. He found Shadow, gloveless, in the kitchen trying to mend his broken model with a tiny bottle of something that read "Super Glue". Mephiles thought it looked too clear and watery to be like the glue he was used to seeing, found it's scent it left in the air to be too irritating and wondered what made it so "Super".

He sat down in a chair across from Shadow, looking around.

"Where's Rouge..?"

"Picking up a couple things at the store..." Shadow didn't look up, holding two small pieces together carefully before letting them go, pleased to see they stayed together.

Mephiles watched him for a moment, thinking about what he should get to eat. Because of his milk allergy, it made it difficult to have a wide range of choices in the morning that wouldn't make him sick.

"I see someone's a teddy bear now..."

Mephiles went stiff and turned his wide eyes on Shadow, who seemed to be trying not to smirk, finding that funny.

Mephiles swallowed and cleared his throat a little, sitting a bit more comfortably.

"N-not like I have done that to you before..." He said in a small voice, looking down at his hand on the table as his cheeks went red again. "He had a f-fever last night, and that was the only way I could keep him from getting up... Didn't mean to fall asleep like that... Back's all sore now..."

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with that..." Shadow looked like he was trying hard not to laugh.

Mephiles narrowed his eyes a little at his tone.

"You're mocking me, aren't you?" He said slowly.

Before he could go any further on this, he looked up and saw Dark leaning in the doorway. Mephiles quickly flashed a smile.

"Oh, hey! Feel better this morning?" Dark gave him a confused look, so he explained quickly. "You had a fever last night, and you fell asleep-"

"Clutching him like a stuffed animal." Shadow finished before Mephiles had a chance to word it.

Mephiles glared at his tone and words.

"Which has nothing wrong with it!" Mephiles added loudly as soon as Dark blinked and opened his eyes more in surprise, mouth hanging open.

Dark then spun around and disappeared from sight as Mephiles tried to call him back. He rounded on Shadow.

"You're mean sometimes, you know that, right..?" He glared.

Dark hadn't gone far, as it turned out. He had headed back to the room and, I kid you not, hid under the blanket quite unsuccessfully.

Mephiles stifled a quiet laugh, and headed over to him, kneeling down and pulling the cover off him, finding him to be staring at him embarrassedly before staring at the ground, then folding his arms on the floor, and burying his face in them as if to hide, his face a deep red.

"You embarrassed?"

Dark just grunted in response, lifting his head a little in unison.

"Ah, don't worry..." Mephiles gave a nervous laugh. "Shadow's always like that... The both you always try to get each other's goat..."

"_... What..?_" Dark said flatly.

"You both kinda mess with each other."

"_... Why?_" Dark lifted his head up and looked at him questioningly. "_... It sounded like he was mocking me... Not for fun, but just to be a bit mean spirited..._"

Mephiles exhaled through his nose slowly and looked away before turning his attention back to Dark.

"... Knowing him, he probably was trying to rub your fur the wrong way... Which, if you were yourself, would have probably worked..." The hedgehog closed his eyes and shrugged. "You probably would have jumped him, or flipped table over, or destroyed that model just to spite him... Or some combination of the three..."

"_... Would I really do that..?_" Dark's eyes opened a bit more.

Mephiles looked at him. As much as he wanted to tell him "No", he knew he'd be lying. He couldn't ignore the rotten truth that Dark was generally ill mannered.

"... I'm not gonna lie... You get frustrated easily..." He tried wording it right. "... But... Y'know..? You... Eh... you're different than everyone else. You're different than me... Very much so..."

"_How so? We look a lot alike..._"

"Well, yeah..." Mephiles snorted, shaking his head while trying to hide a smile. "Duh... But I mean who you are. I'm easily afraid of anything remotely scary. I'm actually quite surprised the fur on my face isn't permanently stained from all the times I've cried for whatever reason. My quills will actually drop off if you (not 'you' you, so we're clear) can scare me enough..." He explained to a very curious Dark. "You, on the other hand, are tough. Yeah, you might have gotten freaked out or upset more than once... But you've stood up to things that I would have never tried on my own. Oh, if only you could remember some of those right now... A lot of them involve rescuing me, or keeping me out of harm's way... You have no idea how amazing and brilliant some of them are!" Before Mephiles knew it, he was gushing about them almost fanatically. "Like when you helped keep me from freezing to death! Or when I was poisoned, I got better quickly because of you! And that time when-" He cut himself off, catching himself before he spoke too much. He shook his head. "S-sorry... I shouldn't be telling you this if you can't remember..."

Dark stared at him for a moment, then at the ground in thought, then back at him.

"_... I remember... Some things..._" He said with hesitation. Mephiles looked at him curiously. "_... Pieces... I remember bits and pieces..._" Dark grabbed his head in frustration, scrunching his eyes shut as he recited: "_Some time ago, there came into existence this hedgehog. He was much like his siblings in appearance and was really nothing out of the ordinary…_" He opened an eye and stared at Mephiles. "_... There's more to it, I'm sure... It feels like a story..._"

Mephiles blinked then smiled a little.

"That... That's the story you told me when I nearly froze to death in that avalanche!" The smile broadened. "It's about me. You told me it so I didn't stop digging out."

"_I did..?_"

Mephiles nodded.

"I thought that you just flat out forgot the story, even before you got your head hit." Mephiles looked overjoyed. "But... You remember it... You remember something good... That's good!"

"_Not all of it..._" Dark frowned a little, sighing loudly.

"Who cares? You. Remember. Something. Good." Mephiles grinned, grabbing him and pulling him to his feet, catching him in a hug, Dark staring at him wide eyed. "Let's go find something to eat... I think we still have some melon left. Interested?"

"_... Is he still in there?_" Dark moved his hands to try and pry himself away, but gave up.

"Who? Shadow?"

Dark nodded slowly.

"Yeah, but don't let him get to you. In fact..." Mephiles finally let go. "I wonder what would happen if he noticed you being nice... Probably blow his mind..." The hedgehog giggled.

Dark looked him in thought. He smiled slightly, snorting at the thought.

When the both of them returned to the kitchen, Dark took a seat in a chair not too far from Shadow.

Shadow looked at him side wise.

"Yes..? Can I help you?"

"_... That has the same colors as you..._"

Shadow moved his project closer.

"I am aware of that... don't you have something else to do..?"

"Shadow... he's just trying to be nice..." Mephiles shook his head as he opened the fridge. There was a large plastic bowl quarter filled with assorted fruit in it.

Shadow exhaled through his nose and looked back at Dark before shouting: "Hey! Don't-!"

"Oh, c'mon! What could he possibly do that would-?"

"No! I mean that he just put his arm on the towel I just used to wipe off some glue!"

Mephiles looked back at them and saw the towel dangling off Dark's raised arm as he stared at it in confusion.

"Well, get it off him..." Mephiles shrugged.

Shadow sighed and looked back at him.

"Alright... hold his arm down, please..."

"Why?"

"Just do it..."

Just as Rouge entered through the front door, holding one large paper bag sideways as she balanced two more on top, she heard a tearing sound, a shriek of pain that sounded unmistakably like Dark and Mephiles shouting: "Oh!_That's_ why they call it 'Super Glue'!"


	14. Running out of comp themed titles

If you didn't check in on DA... I thought all you readers who are Jak fans should know...

Jak may no longer appear in the series... as the real Jak had to be put to sleep last week, because he was just getting to old, and he was having too many problems... T_T

Jak is gone...

* * *

Rage's eyes finally flickered open for the first time since he had gone down. Feeling a hand to the base of his skull, he scrunched his face briefly at the dull pain that was on it's way to fading.

He shoved himself off the ground to sit up, and found himself staring at Sympathy, who was sitting on his knees to be level with him.

"_Alright... What'd I miss..?_" Rage shrugged, looking away as if to not acknowledge that he had been unconscious for whatever amount of time.

"_Well... To start things off..._" Sympathy said nervously while glancing around. "_Arrow's arm is broken, most of us are hopeless, and... Logic is trying to kick that thing's butt for trying to hurt Euphie..._"

Rage's expression was uncharacteristically surprised.

"_... Musta been hit harder than I thou-_" His already mumbling sentence faded into nothing once he laid eyes on the normally docile and soft spoken twin of his doing just what had been described to him, key word being "trying". He blinked and uttered a phrase with no less than three swear words in quick succession and shook his head. "_... It won't last long... He's not a fighter..._"

"_Then go help him instead of talking about it!_" Sympathy snapped at him. "_I'd do something myself if I wasn't watching Euphoria._"

At that moment, Euphie gave a squeal and rushed to Rage, clinging to him to show his excitement.

"_... Oh knock it off, you little runt!_" Rage snapped before catching himself, earning a glare from at least a few of the emotions watching. Euphie pulled back shyly and looked at the ground, tiny ears swiveled back as he clutched his tattered rabbit toy. Rage actually felt sorry, but didn't plan on breaking character to show it.

Sympathy frowned slightly and caught Euphie's hand to pull him over to his side.

"_Oh, ignore him..._" He told him. "_He's just a big meanie._"

Rage flinched slightly.

"_And you're just a touchy-feely wuss!_" He shot back without hesitation.

Sympathy scoffed and shook his head.

"_If you want a confrontation, go help Logic..._" He said, smoothing a stray quill back into place as he did. "_It does none of us any good if you try with me, as it's beyond my capability... I simply won't respond..._"

Before either of them could speak, Logic was thrown roughly, then bounced and skidded on his back very near them. Logic seemed partly confused as to how that happened, and squinted as he tilted his head back to look at them.

"_... I can't see... Which ones are you..?_" He said quite calmly.

"_Who do you think?_" Rage snapped before remembering that Logic's glasses were busted.

Logic sighed in relief anyway.

"_Wonderful... I thought he disconnected you..._"

"_Just knocked in the head..._" Sympathy reported. "_I'm alright, and I'm watching Euphie._"

"Hello! I believe I'm still in the process of kicking your butt!" Dire shouted over them.

The group exchanged looks before Logic waved a hand halfheartedly.

"_Have fun..._" He told Rage.

"_This is getting tiresome..._" Rage muttered.

* * *

Because of Dark's embarrassment from the having a sizable chunk of his fur ripped off his arm, which had naked skin in the place where it had been furry, it was suggested that until it grew back, it could be wrapped with the self adhesive gauze that stuck itself, but not to hair. Unfortunately, they had two color choices left from the variety pack: bright green and hot pink.

Dark wrinkled his nose at the choices, finding the green to be something that really stirred up something he could not place, and also found that pink was just plain humiliating, as he could remember that it was a designated female color. Reluctantly, he pointed to the green one.

As his arm was being covered where it was bald, Mephiles noticed that there were faint scars where the skin had once been clawed and bitten. He probably could not see them due the fur being reasonable in length to obscure the ability to see such minor ones. Minor compared to the one on his side, that is, which seemed that the fur never quite smoothed down in it's place the same way.

"Well, it's not so bad..." Mephiles said carefully. "It matches your eye color..."

"_... This color sucks..._" Dark huffed, waiting until Rouge put the gauze away before putting his arm down.

"It's either that, or pink... Too late, actually... It's already wrapped..." Mephiles glanced to the side. "Now we know not to get any of that stuff on our fur. The other kind of glue usually peels off without doing that..."

Dark made a sound that may have been a snort.

"Uh... So... Yeah... I-I'm gonna go help Rouge put the stuff she bought away..." Mephiles said with a nervous air as he could not really think of anything else to say to Dark at the moment.

Dark draped himself over the arm of the couch they had been sitting on, letting himself lay across it limp, a manner that he tended to do when feeling down, resembling an odd blue spiky decoration somewhat. He heaved a sigh and kept his expression neutral, not wanting to use any effort at the moment.

Mephiles stayed for moment before heading back to the kitchen.

Dark stared at the floor for who knows how long. He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the other room, which included Mephiles exclaiming excitement over the contents of one of the packages.

Suddenly, he felt like someone was watching him, and snapped his eyes back open. It was that... lookalike again.

"_... Mephiles told me that you're not really there..._" Dark said in a low voice to the one sitting on the floor, looking up at him curiously. "_... Go away..._"

"_That didn't work the first time... remember?_"

Dark didn't answer, trying to ignore him. He wondered if he should just get up and head to where everyone else was so that he wouldn't see this, as it seemed to happen when he was alone.

As he continued to be pestered, he halfheartedly waved a hand with a grunt... And froze.

His hand had brushed against something...

His heart jumped into his throat as the lookalike stared with a surprised look.._Illusions aren't solid..._

His eyes went wide. His fur bristled in reaction. His body shook terribly. His skin crawled, making him very uncomfortable. A thin layer of sweat glittered under his fur as he panted, the air feeling too thin.

_I felt something there..._

He wanted to scream, to shout and gain everyone's attention, showing them that it was very likely he was _not_ seeing things after all.

He took a deep breath... And his voice died in his throat._... What's going on..? Why can't I speak? Why am I so afraid right now!_

He could feel the blood draining from his face slowly, knowing that he had grown paler than normal. And all he could do was just stare in unexplainable, mute terror. A horrifying feeling, this was. He was too shocked to try and lift himself off the arm of the couch.

The gears of his mind ground against each other for a good while before something made them run more smoothly, triggering his fight or flight response. He shoved himself up, catching one of the decorative trinkets in his hand, intending to throw it...

...

...

He didn't know what happened next, as his brain seemed to be stuck in some sort of limbo, as he was uncertain if he was conscious or not.

Everything seemed muffled and garbled, and his vision was not tuned, which did nothing to calm him. He fought against anything and everything, unsure of what was here to help him or not.

He felt himself be shaken, and he tried to hold tightly onto whatever felt stable. Was he mistaken, or was his name being called as well..?

"Dark! Snap out of it! Dark!"

This sounded clearer than the rest. He blinked, trying to clear his sight, but having a good idea who that blue shape in front of him was.

"... It's alright... There's no need to be freaking out like that..." He heard Mephiles say in a gentle voice, but loud enough to be heard.

"_... Mephy..?_" He muttered, feeling so relieved to have heard the hedgehog.

"Shadow... Stop shaking him now... I think he's starting to come around..." Mephiles directed to his friend, putting his hand under Dark's chin, lifting his head up carefully so that he could see his face. "Dark... Can you hear me..?"

Dark made a sound, not wanting to nod, as his head felt sore.

"Do you remember anything about what just happened..?"

Dark was about to answer with a meek "_... N-no..._", but he was hit by a sudden rush of terror, remembering why he had been so freaked out to begin with. He gasped harshly and curled into a tight, trembling ball on the floor in response.

"Dark! There's nothing to be afraid of!" Mephiles exclaimed in surprise. "Please calm down! You're making me worried!"

"Just leave him alone if he wants to be left like that for now." Shadow said. "We really needs to take care of the mess here..."

Mildly curious, Dark lifted his head just enough to see. He felt bad when he saw the damage. Furniture was flipped over, the walls bared dents and claw marks, the bookcase was down with it's contents spilled, picture frames were well across from where they should be, crystal coated quills were embedded in several places, and he was certain a window was busted.

He didn't know what was more unnerving; that he knew that he did all this... Or that he couldn't explain why and how he did. He hadn't blacked out like that since...

Wait.

He realized something important, now: He remembered! He knew everything, and everyone again! He knew what was happening, and what had...

"_... Mephy..?_" Dark said in a low voice, uncurling and sitting up carefully, locking his fingers together in an attempt to try and stop his hands from shaking so much. Mephiles looked up from what he was doing not to far away, a couple books in his arms already. Dark had trouble trying to keep eye contact, and simply closed his eyes and heaved a sigh before explaining feebly. "_... I... I saw Iblis again..._"

The atmosphere went dead silent. Even the constant, unbelievably low hum of the computer system seemed to have stopped. As if all sound had spontaneously muted.

Dark opened his eyes and saw Mephiles stare a him, before shaking his head slightly.

"Dark, we've been over this before... He's not really there..."

"What now?" Shadow looked at Mephiles. "What are you talking about?"

"... Dark's been... seeing... things all week..." Mephiles tried to chose his words carefully, but found no other way to word it.

Dark stared at him in disbelief.

"_I didn't imagine it! He was _right_ here!_" He shouted, balling his hands into fists. "_I suppose my brain just made up that I felt something with my own hands! Huh! Is that want you want to say!_" Before he could stop himself, he added as he got off the floor and got in Mephiles' face, the hedgehog backing up fearfully into a wall: "_Just go ahead and say it! You think I'm crazy! I'm a nut job who should be kept away from normal people! Locked up like an animal! Say it! Say it, you smug little-_"

By this point, Mephiles was already scared witless. Dark had him pinned against a wall, hands on either side of him, teeth bared, eyes narrowed, and looking quite livid. Mephiles whimpered, raising his arms to shield his face, only to have them slapped forcefully away.

"_No! You look at me and say it!_" Dark barked, catching him him under the chin to force him to look at him. "_You-!_"

At that moment, Shadow smashed a casserole dish over Dark's head that he had taken from the dish drainer, the anger wiping off of Dark's face as his eyes went blank, his body going limp as he collapsed on the floor.

Mephiles stared in shock before he saw that Shadow was raising the thick, glass dish again, ready to hit Dark another time. Mephiles grabbed his arm to stop him.

"You've already knocked him out!" Mephiles shouted, tearing up. "Stop it! Stop before you seriously hurt him!"

"He was-!"

"He didn't hurt me! All he did was yell! You could seriously hurt him if you keep hitting his head like that!" Mephiles said, voice a bit high from shock. "Oh... Oh my... Shadow! You hit his head! _You hit his head!_"

Mephiles let go of Shadow's arm and dropped to the floor, helping Dark sit up, who was clutching the back of his head with both hands as he started to come to, teeth gritted in pain.

"D-Dark? Are you alright..?" Mephiles stammered.

"_... I... My left side is numb..._" Dark sounded a little frightened by this fact as he muttered. "_... My ears are ringing... And... I-is the room spinning..? It feels like it..._"

"D-don't stand up... It'll just feel worse." Mephiles said. "I'll get you an ice p-pack... It'll help..."

As Mephiles got up, he threw a glare Shadow's way, taking the long way around the couch to put distance between them.

Shadow looked at Rouge, who also seemed to be staring at him disapprovingly. He finally dropped the dish in his hands, which hit the ground with a heavy **THUNK**, making Dark flinch and scramble back in surprise.

"Oh, c'mon... You know why I did that!" Shadow started explaining. "He was sca-!"

"Don't you even start, Shadow the Hedgehog!" The wings on her back straightened and fluttered on her back, causing few loose pages to scoot across he floor. "He didn't physically hurt Mephiles. And you were getting ready to hit him again, when he was obviously down!"

"I was just..." He stopped, knowing nothing he could say would justify it. He was aware that maybe he went a bit too far. He had only reacted because all he could see how upset Mephiles was getting, how scared he looked, cowering and in tears as Dark cornered him, shouting absurd remarks, and appearing quite angered...

Of course, Mephiles' dedication to helping Dark was obscuring his ability to see the wrong Dark was doing now... But Shadow was just trying to protect Mephiles if Dark snapped again. Why didn't anybody get that? Why did they think he was purposely being the bad guy here, when he was trying to keep the hedgehog safe? Oh, so frustrating...

Mephiles shoved passed him as if he wasn't even there, holding a frozen gel-pack (lasts longer than ice, feels better, and is reusable) in a dish towel and holding it to Dark's head, grabbing and guiding his hand to have him hold it in place himself.

"It's not too cold, is it?" Mephiles said anxiously. "I could get another towel if-"

"_... No, it's fine... I don't mind cold..._" Dark mumbled, the corner of his mouth twitching as if he was thinking of smiling slightly. It never came to fruition.

Dark sighed and lowered his head. He knew what he had done wrong. He knew why he had received such a brutal hit to the head. He knew... He just couldn't explain why he did that. Why he had gotten so enraged over a simple and truthful sentence. For once, he didn't blame Shadow for intervening. In fact, if he hadn't... Dark was certain that he might have gotten darn near uncontrollable. Simply put, Shadow knocked some sense into him.

"Are you still numb?" Mephiles caught the affected hand and examined it carefully. "Can you move your fingers? At all?"

"_... Feeling's coming back a bit..._" Dark muttered, flexing his fingers awkwardly. "_It's pins and needles feeling all on my left... It doesn't hurt, it just tickles and itches..._" He looked up, almost sadly. "_... I kinda deserved that..._"

"Dark, you're just confused because of the amnesia and-"

"_I remember everything._" Dark cut across him calmly, shaking his head lightly. "_I'm not confused. I know what happened. And I know that I saw Iblis._"

"You must have hit him a bit too hard, Shadow..." Mephiles said nervously, as if he still didn't believe him completely.

Dark frowned, irked that they were dismissing this so easily. What was the point of him telling them if his efforts were going to be shot down like that? He forced a sigh through his nose and tried a different tactic.

"_... Maybe I'm just worn out from all the stress..._" He said, tossing his free hand up in the air in a shrug.

"It's not like you to give up so easily... usually more persistent than that..." Mephiles noted in mild surprise.

Dark smiled a little to himself. Reverse psychology... Works like a charm.

"Well, whatever it was, it spooked you like I have never seen before..." Mephiles frowned in concern. "Like you completely lost sense of yourself. SpinDashing off the walls like you'd gone mad, swiping your claws, you managed to move the couch quite a bit..." Dark noticed that it was much closer to the kitchen than before. "And when you finally slowed down enough, Shadow was the only one who could get near you, because your Aura was going off like a live wire! My hands got burned!" Mephiles held them up, palm side out, cringing a bit. Dark could see some scorches on them, feeling terrible. "And that's something, because nearly nothing can hurt my hands! I thought my crystals were going to light up like a lamp!" He put his hands down. "You didn't start to calm down until about ten minutes after it started. Maybe because you started to wear yourself down... But anyway, I could sense that you were really upset..."

"_... Because I saw him again..._" Dark said, sticking to his story. "_And moreover... I felt something there with my hand._"

"I'm not calling you a liar." Mephiles swiveled his ears back a bit. "But a-are you-Maybe it was-What if you really just fell asleep and had a nightmare? It used to happen a lot with me, and I used to think they really happened for real..."

Dark was about to snap at his suggestion before he paused. Come to think to it... he _did_ have his eyes closed before he noticed that Iblis was there... Was it indeed possible that he _had_ fallen asleep after all and dreamt it? The mind was a powerful thing, his even more so, and it wouldn't be the first time his brain played a terrible trick on him...

His eyes widened slowly at that as his pale face flushed a lovely shade of vermillion around his cheeks once it dawned on him that he acted like a deranged fool for something that never happened. His hands moved up to his face in a weak attempt to hide his embarrassment, his body curling in on itself into a ball, wishing he could just disappear from sight, away from their stares...

What was the use in wishing, anyway? Such empty meaning that term had. It never worked for him. He knew he was nothing more than a cosmic plaything, created solely to endure what was thrown at him with little to no reward...

But he did have Mephy. One break in all this Chaos that made keeping his sanity all worthwhile. He was silently thankful to know that he more than just a speck of dust to _some_one.

There was just something mind clearing about that hedgehog to him. Maybe it was his Aura, or the fact that he regarded Dark as an individual who could think, or maybe that he treated Dark nicely. When Dark had always been so used to the opposite.

Whatever the reason, Dark knew that he just felt more... Complete around him. Like he used to feel when he and Iblis were still elements. Before the change...

With a thrill of panic, he realized that something to that effect was happening to him as well. He was becoming uncontrollable, with poor Mephiles forced to watch helplessly. Mephiles had been unable to come near him earlier... Just as Dark was repelled by Iblis, Auras incompatible. Not too long ago, he stood up against Mephiles, challenging him and thinking ideas that were absurd... Just like...

With crushing realization, he now knew the pattern and nature that the "virus" was attacking him. How he was not himself. How he was the flip side under it's influence. His worst fear. His nightmare. Something that scared him sick...

He was becoming what Iblis had.


	15. Still on an iPod

Dark couldn't hope to fall asleep that night. He was certain that no amount of any type of aid would even coax him.

Not the purring of a content cat, nor the late night programming of television seemed to work. No one dared to offer one of the over the counter pills that boasted drowsy symptoms due to Mephiles' and Dark's strange physiology, not wanting to risk the possibility of him keeling over because of a reaction. Dark didn't get the same sleepy symptoms from tea as Mephiles, so that idea was shot down. In fact, nothing could seem to counter Dark's insomnia.

And so, Dark simply sat there, tired eyes wide open, sleepy darkness creeping under them, almost tearing up from just how much they burned from lack of rest.

"... This can't be good for you in many ways..." Mephiles shook his head in concern, sliding off the couch and landing face first because of the way he was draped over it from exhaustion. "... Ow... Right on my nose again..."

"_... You don't have to stay up with me..._" Dark shifted his eyes towards him as Mephiles pulled himself back on the couch. "_... Really... You can go to sleep if you need to..._"

"I'm monitoring you in case something happens... Though we have the shades closed, and hardly any inter... What's that word again..? Interaction! With outside... Brain needs to wake up..." Mephiles shook his head and shoved a cinnamon candy in his mouth as an attempt to sting a sense to wake up more. "Besides... I don't want you to feel like no one is paying any mind to you... You'd be surprised how much of a different that makes..."

Dark smiled slightly, almost sadly.

"_... I really don't deserve you..._" He exhaled deeply, throwing his head back to hang off the back of the couch, seeing everything upside down. "_... You're too good to me... While I've been... Well... Not the best-_"

"Nobody's perfect, y'know?" Mephiles cut across him, then held up the canister. "Candy? Maybe you'd like one of the mint flavors more..."

"_They're not gonna burn, are they..?_" Dark lifted his head and raised an eyebrow, remembering the last time he was offered one.

"Quite the opposite..." Mephiles shook the container. "The green and white type are spearmint, and the red and white are peppermint..."

"_What's the difference?_"

"Spearmint has a bit of bite, and peppermint is more sweet..."

"_Red first, then..._" Dark figured he could handle sweet first, wondering what Mephiles meant about "bite", and if that would hurt. Possibly not, if the hedgehog was willing to indulge in that again and again.

The moment Dark touched the red and white swirled candy to his tongue, he found himself shoving the whole piece in his mouth eagerly, quite enjoying the "cooling" effect it had when he breathed in. Indeed the opposite of that spice burn.

The goofy grin fell from his face quickly when he remembered that Mephiles was there, and he turned away before his face could blush. Stupid, stupid delicious candy...

"Take it that you like it then?" The hedgehog smiled, Dark grunting in response. "When that's gone, you should try the other... It's kinda the same, but different. Oh, and if you wanna say something without getting rid of it, just move it to the space between your teeth and cheek..."

Dark just nodded.

"How's your head doing?"

"_I've had worse..._" Dark muttered, wincing when he touched the bruised spot. "_I'll live..._"

"Dunno what Shadow was thinking when he did that..." Mephiles was shaking his head. "Could have seriously hurt you, as hard as he hits... Surprised you weren't knocked out longer than that..."

"_... I kinda deserved that, though..._" Dark grumbled truthfully. "_I was falling back into a rage fit... I hardly recall what I did..._"

"Sure the memory lapse isn't because you got clobbered with a baking dish?" The hedgehog shoved a grapefruit flavored candy bit in his mouth this time, nose wrinkling slightly from the onslaught of sour.

"_Yes._"

"Well, I don't blame you for getting mad at me for telling Shadow about your... Uh..." Mephiles trailed off a bit, as if worried that Dark would snap again. Nothing happened, so he continued. "But I figured he might be a bit easier on you if he knew something was bugging you that bad..." He looked at his feet. "And instead, it ended up with you getting beat in the head..."

"_Because I got out of hand... It was my fault..._" Dark sighed heavily. "_But I was so sure that I really saw him..._"

"I know... I can feel your thoughts, remember?" Mephiles looked at him and blinked. "I know what you felt... And I know only one thing could get that kinda reaction... But think about it..." Mephiles handed him the canister to pick out another candy. "He said he was going to burn out. He just _gave_ us the Emeralds when he realized you could have very well died. He pretty much gave up and dropped everything. No sign of him since-"

"_Other than what I've seen..._"

"You said so yourself that all it does is stare." Mephiles gave a slightly sad look. "That really doesn't sound like what we're used to."

"_He talked a few times..._"

"You never mentioned that..."

"_It's nothing, really..._" Dark shook his head slowly. "_Mostly just says that ignoring him doesn't seem to work, and practically scolded me for scaring you..._"

"... Maybe it's your conscience?" Mephiles offered, equally baffled. "Y'now, that little thought in the back of your mind that makes you think twice about things..?"

Dark stared at him before snorting, holding back a laugh.

"_No, that one just argues with me and tries to prove me wrong._"

Mephiles gave him a brief, strange look before adding: "Hey, promise me something, okay..?"

"_Hmm..?_" Dark raised an eyebrow.

"If something bothers you, or you feel stressed... Don't keep it to yourself..." Mephiles looked at his feet while half closing his eyes.

"_Mmeh._" was probably the closest thing to what Dark managed to force from his mouth, unsure of what to say.

"I mean it..." Mephiles looked up at him. "Tell me or something... I'm scared that you might have a heart attack or a st-stroke or something from all the stress..."

"_Where did you get _that_ idea?_" Dark blinked, taken aback. Not that he was waving a hand at the links between high blood pressure, stress, heart attacks and strokes... But for Mephiles to realize that Dark had the first two symptoms, and draw a conclusion like that... He had forgotten how observant the hedgehog was.

"T-TV program..." Mephiles stuttered, looking away again. "But p-please... If something's bothering you... T-tell me..."

"_You can't keep your mouth shut about anything._" Dark snorted through his nose. "_You have to blab it to anyone you can get an ear from._"

"Only because I want them to understand you." Mephiles sighed. "People will be more lenient when they realize the underlying cause of a person's problem is not said person's fault..."

"_You really shouldn't be up this late..._" Dark ignored him and gestured to the clock.

"Neither should you..." Mephiles countered. "Those dark circles under your eyes are just going to get worse if you keep putting off sleep."

"_I'm well aware of the side effect of insomnia..._" Dark snapped at him quickly. "_Not the first time..._"

Mephiles sighed softly.

"Is there _any_thing that'll help you sleep? Anything..?" He yawned. "Because I'm getting tired... I feel like I could fall asleep at any given mo-"

True to his word, Mephiles suddenly crashed, falling asleep with his head down, his arms locked and propping him up after leaning forward to stare at the shadow, snoring softly now.

Dark suppressed a laugh and smiled slightly, looking around briefly to see that they were alone. He was a little jealous of his narcoleptic "brother", while he himself was generally an insomniac. No matter... He couldn't change that.

Knowing Mephiles' arms would be sore if he slept like that, Dark reached over with both hands and pulled him a bit closer so that he was sure the hedgehog would be more comfortable.

"_... You're the only one I'd do this for, you stupid hedgehog..._" He muttered as he shook his head, putting an around around him as Mephiles subconsciously muzzled into his side. He hoped no one would see this. "_You know that, right? The _only_ one..._"

Tape, who had been on Dark's lap this while time, didn't like the movement much, and stretch a bit before moving to lay against Dark instead of on him.

Dark closed his eyes and gave a small smile.

* * *

When Mephiles woke up, he noticed that Dark looked like he might have finally fallen asleep within the past hour.

Carefully getting up, gently lifting Dark's limp arm off himself, wondering why that was there, he decided that he would just let Dark sleep for as long as he needed. Chaos knows he needed it badly.

Mephiles decided to snag a lightweight blanket out of one of the closets for Dark, perhaps even slip a pillow under his head to make him more comfortable.

Once he did, Dark stirred a little, but settled back down, not opening his eyes once.

Realizing the house seemed rather quiet, he looked at one of the clocks and saw that it was hardly even eight. On a Sunday, no less, so Shadow and Rouge were sleeping in, most likely. A twitch of the ears confirmed it.

With nothing much to do, he migrated to the kitchen, grabbed a couple of toaster pastries, something to look at, and sat down.

He was leafing through a recipe book that had been picked up recently that had a number of vegetarian friendly choices, many of which look just like meat varieties that they mimicked. To his interest, a good number lacked dairy, which was good for a lactose intolerant hedgehog.

"... I bet Dark would like to try these..." Mephiles said to himself. "Veggie Wrap? That actually sounds and looks pretty good..."

He was referring to various vegetables, such as carrots, cabbage, sprouts, broccoli, and whatever else was crunchy... Shredded, grated and sliced, with the option of dressing, wrapped in a tortilla like a burrito.

"And you can add pepper for spice and extra flavor, or add some tortilla chip strips for an added crunch... Huh..." He looked at his rather boring in comparison toaster pastry, and frowned slightly. "And here I am, eating something that's probably mostly sugar... We should really look into that one..."

Mephiles looked up to see Dark, leaning against the frame of the doorway, appearing quite worse for wear. He looked exhausted, shaky, pale and Mephiles was almost certain Dark was upset, even if that was what he was showing the least of. Then he noticed Dark was clutching his arm, somewhat dazed in the eyes.

Without a pause, Mephiles dropped his toaster pastry and exclaimed in a not too loud voice: "Sweet Chaos on Mobius! What happened, Dark!" Mephiles was more than surprised when he realized Dark's arm looked liked it had been struck by a set of claws the same size as the both of theirs. "Dark... Please t-tell me you didn't do this..." He pleaded as he got up to look more closely, carefully coaxing Dark to let go so he could do so.

Dark just stared at him mutely, taking a deep breath to try and speak, but his voice didn't seem to want to work at the moment, and could only force out terrified gasps.

Mephiles then noticed something strange: None of Dark's claws had any indication of being used to scratch into his flesh.

Now Mephiles was a little scared.

He started to leave the room, intending on getting Shadow and Rouge, but Dark quickly grabbed Mephiles' arm with one hand, shaking his head mutely, almost pleadingly.

"Dark, I need to tell them about this..."

Dark shook his head again, looking like he thought that was a terrible idea.

"How can you expect me to help you if you won't let me tell what's wrong so _that_ we can get help?" Mephiles was a little frustrated.

"_... N-no... P-please, no..._" Dark managed in a hoarse whisper, pale face getting close to ghostly now. His cheek twitched slightly, as trying to force a small smile on his face. "_... I-I'm f-fine now... I-It was nothing..._"

"Liar! You _never_ get this worked over 'nothing'!" Mephiles snapped. "I'm going to say something, and maybe we'll find out what's going on!"

"_You wanna know what's going on! Dark Gaia! That's what!_" Dark snapped back before he could stop himself.

Mephiles blinked in confusion.

"What now?"

"_I don't expect you to know much about him, as he wasn't supposed to be active until LONG after we died!_" Dark shouted, undoubtedly gaining the attention of all the house's inhabitants. "_His power feeds off of and influences those with weak wills and souls filled with darkness and pain! Looks like I'm just perfect for that!_" Dark let him go and took a step back, snorting loudly. "_And you know what else! I'm starting to act just like Iblis did before HE went crazy! Oh, the irony!_" Seeing Shadow, he jumped in front of him, laughing insanely. "_You know all about irony, don't you! Of course you do! We both do! Ah ha ha ha ha ha!_" Dark threw his hands in the air and his head back, cackling and gasping like a mad thing.

Mephiles took a step back fearfully, which caused Dark to spin around in his direction.

"_What are you scared about? I'm only telling the truth! You said you wanted me to tell you! I'm telling! Ha!_" Dark dissolved into hysterical laugher, holding holding his right side with his left hand, holding his right hand to his forehead.

Exchanging an awkward look with Mephiles and Rouge, Shadow was about to offer some word to try and ease the situation down... But as soon as Dark heard the inhale laced with Shadow's voice, the unsettling grin faded quickly from his face and his eyes lit up with white hot rage.

"_Shut up. Shut up! SHUT UP!_" He spun back around to face Shadow, fists clenched tightly, thinned quills puffed up, as if trying to look bigger in an attempt to get him to back off, while stomping his foot.

He shouted that for several more times before he went absolutely tense, as if some kind if sense just jolted through him. His pupils contracted as if a bright light flashed in his wide eyes, his body was sweating and trembling feverishly, his arms hanging lifelessly as his chest heaved up and down from panting so heavily.

Mephiles didn't dare move. He didn't know what Dark might do if he did, as he did not know what Dark was seeing or thinking at the moment.

There was an awkward silence, punctuated only by Dark's deep gasping breaths. He lifted his head slightly, eyes out of focus as they darted back and forth across the room.

Two of the people in the room had seen this look before on Mephiles, knowing it meant nothing good.

Dark's eyes landed on Shadow, and he stared for a good long while, quills and fur standing up on end slowly, a low rumble in his throat.

Shadow stood perfectly still this time, knowing that crazed gleam in Dark's eyes were nothing friendly.

"Rouge... Get back in the room..." Shadow said slowly, not wanting her to be caught between them.

No sooner had Shadow said that did Dark lunge at him, slamming into his body forcefully enough to drive Shadow halfway down the hall, the hybrid hedgehog standing his ground enough to stay upright, with Dark bouncing back a bit due to being lighter than Shadow.

"Dark! That's enough!" Mephiles cried out in shock. "Stop it!"

Dark ignored him and got ready to strike again.

Shadow was ready this time, and grabbed the door handle for the coat closet, pulling it open as a shield, which Dark slammed into headfirst and ended up somewhat dazed.

Shadow took this as a moment to shove it closed, which trapped Dark in the kinda small, pitch black compartment.

As Shadow leaned up against it and flipped the lock, Dark's snarls and growls turned into unnerving shrieks and wails as the shadow pounded his fists on the door, forgetting in his panic that he could easily escape as mist.

Even Shadow was stunned by this sudden whiplash in behavior. Rouge and Mephiles stuffed their fingers in their ears, both unable to stand the pitch.

"Shadow, get him out of there!" Mephiles shouted once it dawned on him. "It reminds him of the Scepter!"

Shadow was about question it, remembering that Dark had once fallen asleep at the bottom of the same closet, before recalling that Dark had left the door slightly ajar. It was _not_ the same. Dark was being trapped inside of someplace where he couldn't see what was in front of him, less than four feet of floor space, and no way to get out.

The screaming died down somewhat, with some sort of inaudible mumbling now.

Shadow flipped the lock again, motioned for everyone to get out of the way, and yanked it open taking cover as if expecting Dark to jump out and hit the wall.

Nothing.

Peering in cautiously to find the shadow shrunk up against and trembling body resting on the farthest right side corner, hands gripping his upper arms, breathing deeply and eyes wide and round.

He looked up and half closed his eyes as he said: "_S-sorry... L-lost it f-for a moment..._"

"Perhaps an understatement..." Shadow said lowly enough to not be caught by Dark before saying more loudly: "Just so we're clear, I wasn't trying to freak you out..." Shadow explained. "The intent was to isolate you until you cooled down enough to think more clearly.

Dark stared blankly before saying: "_... W-what now..?_"

"I th-think you just had s-something like a nervous b-breakdown or something..." Mephiles stuttered, peering in at him. "You g-got really mad... St-started laughing all crazy... And th-then got mad again, and attacked Shadow..."

"Who shoved you in there so you wouldn't hurt any of us, and the way things were going... Yourself." Rouge added, looking at the door, which had dents roughly the size of Dark's hands, one head sized one from smacking into it, and numerous scratches in the paint from dragging his claws down. Dark looked up at them as well and his face darkened a shade of red.

Mephiles reached a hand to him to help him up, Dark accepting eagerly, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.

...

...

...

_... I'm not bad... I'm not bad..._

...

_What's wrong with you..?_

...

_Too slow... ALWAYS too slow!_

...

_I'm not leaving without you!_

...

_... I feel... powerful..._

...

_Dark... It's me! Remember?_

...

_Emotions are such a waste of time..._

...

_You promised! You promised!_

...

_You're probably the only friend I've ever had..._

...

_Let's go home, Dark..._

...

_Don't make me hurt you..._

...

_What have I done!_

...

_Leave him alone!_

...

_Not good enough..._

...

_I just don't care anymore..._

...

_You don't have to be perfect!_

...

_Stop controlling me!_

...

_Am I good enough for you now..?_

...

...

...

Mephiles and Dark quickly let go each other's hand, both staring in shock at what just happened: a flurry of voices, their own, in what hadn't happened yet.

Dark recovered first, shrugged, and in an attempt to mask over it, he said: "_Glad we got that all figured out..._" Referring to his rage and hysterics earlier. 


	16. Evil Chapter Still on an iPod

_'You let people control too much about you..._'

Dark's eyes snapped open, surveying the dark room.

_Perhaps I'm just hearing things again..._ He told himself, a little annoyed, as he had actually managed to fall asleep at a reasonable hour. This wasn't something he welcomed too well.

_'You know something? You're a pretty intelligent individual..._' The voice added.

_And you must be Dark Gaia's influence, trying to corrupt me..._ Dark responded in a hostel way, rolling on his side and pulling a pillow over his head. _Go away..._

_'Not really too much needing to be done, anyway...'_ The voice said, making Dark's body go stiff. _'Pretty impressive work, there... Shame you gave it up...'_

_I found more important things. Better things._ Dark tried to brush it off. _Things you probably lack the ability to grasp..._

_'Useless, really...'_ The voice scoffed. _'I've taken a look into your life, and I can't help but notice how much weaker you let yourself become...'_

_You mistake my ability to feel and express for weakness..._ Dark replied cooly. _I used to simply be a piece... I'm more than that now, and am therefore... better._

_'Do you honestly believe that? Some fiction a cowardly wreck of a hedgehog fed you? Did you forget that you used to dominate over him? Now you're clinging to him like a lifeline to keep from drowning in your own mistake.'_

_As a matter if fact, I do believe that. You claim to have looked a little at my life, but you obviously missed the recent installments._ Dark snapped. _Something to the effect of a couple of near death experiences, and him making sure I didn't die. Helping me through a few regressions? With all that happened in the past months, yeah... I believe him._

_'Hold him pretty dear, don't you?'_

_He's my brother, after all._

_'Why is he always trying to find something wrong with you then?'_

_He doesn't!_

_'Always reaching his hand to your head for a fever, pestering you for every little trouble, telling everyone what's up with you, saying "He's not himself!" and "I think he's sick again.", ready to cart you over to that doctor if you so much as break routine...'_

_It's not like that! He does that because he gets worried-_

_'That you'll catch on, and not conform to his little game to have complete control on your life?'_

_Because he had a sick brother once, and naturally, he gets worried about me!_ Dark corrected him.

_'Oh, I see... Treats you the same way then?'_

Dark didn't answer, knowing that would only be used against him.

_'Must be lonely being the only one of your kind.'_ The voice pried. _'There used to be you and your real brother, but I see that he went pretty nuts and tried to destroy you... Just for being what he called "weak". Ouch.'_

_Shut up..._

_'You know, I'm a tough little runt too... My "brothers" love shoving me around, Coarse and Blitz especially, as they're already upgraded...'_ The voice ignored him. _'That's why I picked you as my target. I can sort of relate, as the both of us can't stand being belittled. How 'bout this? Help me advance from being a Little Rex to a Nightmare, and I can make sure you never have to worry about those pesky feelings getting in the way of your better judgement ever again?'_

_You must think I'm stupid..._

_'What about if I stop those hallucinations? I could make them go away...'_

Dark couldn't take it anymore. He sprung up from the floor and hurried to the door, sliding the locks open and pulling it open to hop down the couple of steps that made the porch, and just stood there.

All he wanted right now was to savor his favorite part of the day... The night. The crickets chirping. The owls hooting. The distant roar of an airplane rumbling in the air. The squeaks and chatters of the rodents doing what they do. The glow of the half blasted moon illuminating the area.

This was his element. He could concentrate more if he was allowed some interaction with it at very least. Breathing in the chilled air slowly, he ignored that voice, watching a pale brown moth float on by, attracted to a streetlight.

A dull moth was like the Monarch of night to him. Chirping crickets were his chattering birds. For everything enjoyable about day, he could find a counterpart for it at night. It was just much quieter, as not many cared to hang around to enjoy it outside.

Before he could soak up all of the pleasure he could from it all, a more familiar voice made him jump.

"You're not supposed to be out here!"

He spun around to find Mephiles in the doorway, looking a bit startled, if not worried.

"_It's not for long... I just wanted to... I miss it out here..._" Dark tried to explain.

"What if the exposure gets worse?" Mephiles shook his head and stepped outside with him, standing not more than a foot away now. "Dr. Thizon said-"

"_Being outside has nothing to do with the progression..._" Dark snapped a little harsher than he intended. "_The person's willpower is the deciding factor. That, and the darkness in their hearts..._" Seeing the look Mephiles gave him, he added: "_Which is probably why you weren't affected at all. You're too good, and despite being so easily intimidated... Your will is tough to bend..._"

"But by that extension..." Mephiles looked at him, biting down on his lip with his eyes shimmering only the slightest. "You're implying that your core is still bad, and that your will is weak... You're saying that-"

Dark held up his hand, motioning for him to hush.

"_Mephy... You know me. You know what I can do and what I've done... What I've done to you... Karma's finally catching up to me, really..._"

"But I forgave you. It doesn't matter what you did to me, anymore!" Mephiles shook his head. "I chose to move forward and start over. That's all in the past!"

"_Which still happened, and we can't ignore it..._"

"But I'm willing to try!" Mephiles insisted.

"_And I just can't do it!_" Dark snapped, shoving him back. "_How can I? When all I've done to you is-?_"

"I seriously don't care about that!" Mephiles caught his wrist. "Why is that so hard for you to get? You act like you're nothing more than a cold, unfeeling being... A monster who doesn't deserve anything, but you're not!" Mephiles looked at him sadly. "You deserve what the rest of us do. You feel like the rest of us. I know you're bitter and angry a lot, but I've seen you happy. I've seen you try. I've seen you coddle your cat, even. You don't realize it, but you're just like me deep down..." Mephiles sighed lightly. "You can act tough all you want, but you know that I know you... Now get back inside, because it's cold out here, and the last thing I want is for you to catch a cold or something. I could heat up some soup and get out the crackers if you want..."

"_Isn't it kinda late for-Ahh tha-da-da!_" Dark stuttered angrily, glaring at him suddenly. "_Are you bribing me?_"

"Is that a 'no'?" Mephiles blinked three times and forced a small smile.

Dark paused before saying: "_Tomato. Two shakes of salt and a pinch of pepper, then we have something to talk about..._"

"Good, because you didn't eat at all today..." Mephiles nodded. "And yeah... I noticed that."

Dark cursed under his breath.

"_Of course you did..._" He muttered as Mephiles led him inside.

"Ignoring your needs when you're upset isn't a good thing." The hedgehog reminded him. "You were already bordering the underweight category to begin with. Keep this up, and you'll be frail. Wait here..." Mephiles carefully pushed him into a chair by the table before he could resist, and got started on heating up the soup in a bowl in the microwave, retrieving the box of crackers, and even getting him a glass of juice before Dark could do anything. Then he took a seat across from his doppelgänger and leaned forward, head propped up in his hands, his elbows resting on the table, and ears perked forward with interest. "Alright... What's on your mind?"

Dark blinked.

"_Nothing..._" He lied.

"Not true." Mephiles countered quickly in a careful tone. "Not after earlier. Try that again."

_'He just wants to find something wrong with you.'_

Dark tried to ignore it.

"You haven't slept right in days. Anyone can see that you're exhausted and miserable, which leads to a lot more problems." Mephiles offered, hoping to get him to join in. "And I know that it's not like it's easy to even sleep at all. You're restless, and I'm sure that... Whatever it is, is keeping you up, and won't let you sleep..." Mephiles had his arms folded on the table, now. "But if you can think of anything that would make it easier to stay asleep, let me know. I'll try my best."

He got up to retrieve the soup, Dark sitting in silence.

Suddenly, Dark felt something stir up inside him, bubbling over and filling him with anger. He grabbed the package of crackers and threw them across the room, then slammed his head on the table, bringing his arms up to fold them and bury his head in them.

Mephiles set the soup on the counter, and cautiously reached a hand out to him, only to get it slapped away unsurprisingly.

"_Don't touch me!_" Dark lifted his head up a little and glared at him. "_You _know_ I hate contact!_"

"Only when you're upset..." Mephiles pointed out with an exhale of exasperation. "But cutting yourself off from everything won't help any..."

"_I completely deserve it._" Dark said in a clear statement, something bad sparking behind his eyes. "_All of it. It's really no different than what I did to you. Karma. Coming around full circle. I've been bad, so bad is coming back at me..._"

"Stop it. It doesn't matter anymore..." Mephiles clenched his teeth, knowing Dark was going to be stubborn. "You've done enough to compensate for it all and then some..."

"_By your standards, maybe!_" Dark snapped in a harsh whisper.

"I think your constant need to keep me out of harm's way also counts." Mephiles rolled his eyes before adding in a softer voice: "I doubt we need to explain..."

"_... I've been poisoned, beaten, bruised, ripped, torn, drained, thrown, bitten and completely mindscrewed... All because I'm compelled to protect a stupid little hedgehog..._" Dark growled, burying his face in his arms again. "_One of which I have done the very same to, if not more... Thanks for pointing out the absurdity of all this._"

"That's it. I am going to prove to you that you're good." Mephiles heaved a sigh and left the room, crossed to the front door, pulled it open and stepped outside.

Perplexed, Dark followed after him, finding him stepping out into the quiet street.

"_Get out of there, that's not safe..._" Dark said, a little worried. No sign of cars, but he had to admit that this was a little unnerving.

"I think you can do better than that."

"_What are you talking about! Are you insane!_" Dark was trying to keep calm, but it freaked him out a little to see Mephiles so calm out there, folding his arms defiantly, even sitting down on the pavement in the lane on the other side. "_It's not funny! Get back here!_"

"No."

_Stubborn little... Urgh, maybe if I don't respond, he'll stop..._

No sooner had he thought that, did he catch the gleam of headlights a little ways down the street. Cursing to himself, he grew more disquieted when Mephiles glanced that way, and didn't bother to move.

_He'll move... He's not that stupid..._ Dark told himself nervously.

Mephiles seemed a bit nervous now too, but appeared confident enough that his idea would work.

Before either of them knew it, Dark sped to the other side of the street, knocking Mephiles out of the way and onto the large patch of grass in front of the yard of the house across the street and out of the way of the car.

"If you were really as bad as you think you are, you would have-"

Dark, who was sprawled on his front, panting and gasping from having to move so fast and from what Mephiles just did, reached his hand over and seized Mephiles' white fur roughly and pulled him over to where they were face to face, glaring at him with his teeth bared.

"_Try that again, and I'll make you wish that car had hit you..._" Dark threatened.

"You're gonna tell Shadow and Rouge, aren't you?" Mephiles said in a small voice.

"_Me? Of course not!_" Dark snorted while letting him go. "You _are!_"

"Aw, crud..."

* * *

Maybe things went over better than Mephiles expected. In addition to being chewed out severely ("What on Mobius were you thinking!", "I wouldn't expect that from you!", "What possessed you to do that!" and "What if you got the both of you hit!" being a few notable comments), his television privileges were cut down to no more than an hour a day, regardless of program length, with no viewing after nine (the start of his favorite timeblock), for the next month (or when they felt that he got the point, whichever came first).

Also, when he figured that he'd just catch up online, he then wondered if Shadow read his mind, as the red and black hedgehog then ripped the Ethernet cable out of the wall and threw it in a box in the garage as Mephiles watched from the couch.

"You. Room. _Now._" Shadow said in a menacingly calm voice.

"... It's earlier than I normally-"

"You're out of your mind if you think you get any privileges tonight." Shadow shook his head. "You're sleeping in our room tonight so we can keep an eye on you."

Before anything else could be said, however, Dark, perhaps because of the constant days of lack of rest, and had been mutely fighting back a dizzy spell, suddenly collapsed to the floor, earning a series of collective sounds of surprise and shock, Mephiles being the only one to actually yell in fright.

Which then progressed into the beginnings of a panic attack, in which Mephiles was thoroughly convinced now that all the slowly building stress must have finally given Dark a stroke or heart attack, and thought what he just did must have been the last straw that caused it.

However, thankfully, Shadow was able to confirm and prove that Dark had collapsed from exhaustion, and that his body simply just forced him to fall asleep, regardless of where he was.

He had to explain this several times, however (this word again...), as Mephiles had gone completely stiff and near silent from shock, his half open mouth forcing a few terrified squeaks and whimpers from it.

"Meph... He's alright." Shadow said again as Mephiles continued to stare.

"I think his brain just... froze..." Rouge looked up at Shadow when she couldn't get Mephiles to break his stare and look at her. "I don't think he heard you, at all."

She gave him another careful shake, Mephiles sprang back to reality with a harsh gasp.

"He's... I-is D-dark... W-what just..?" He stammered, obviously terribly distressed to have seen Dark collapse like that without warning. He inhaled sharply, counted to five, and tried to be more coherent but could only force out: "... I-is he..?"

"Shadow said he just collapsed from exhaustion, that's all..." Rouge explained, thankful that Mephiles snapped out of his daze.

"Sh-should we call Dr. Thizon, j-just in c-case..?" Mephiles looked back at Dark.

"I don't think it's anything too serious right now..." Shadow shook his head. "Aside from hitting the ground like that, and what's happened to him recently, he seems fine other than that he's completely out of it..."

"L-let me see..." Mephiles wasn't completely convinced yet, and needed to confirm that himself.

Sure enough, Dark was completely dead to the world, and didn't so much as flinch when Mephiles picked up his thin wrist to check his pulse (normal beat...), prodded him, felt his forehead (no fever...), and listened to his breathing (normal as well...).

All of this struck Mephiles as very strange, however, as Dark was incredibly easy to rouse from sleep, as he was not exactly a deep sleeper, which made Mephiles worry, if only slightly now.

When he voiced this concern, it was met with the reasoning that if Dark was worn out as he was... Then the usual rules of his nature of rest would not apply. Even Mephiles had to admit that made sense, as Dark hadn't slept properly for at least a week now, having only, at most, a couple of hours of time each day, and before that, it was obvious that the same fell true at the hospital.

Obviously, Dark couldn't be left there in the middle of the walkway of the floor, and was moved to the room where Mephiles had quickly set up the sleeping spot, not wanting to have him left out in the living room by himself, on account of wanting to keep an eye on him to catch one of the strange happening in the act, as well as because he was sure Dark wouldn't be very pleased if he found that he had been left out there while everyone else retreated to the room, and because he himself would feel better knowing he could easily see Dark.

* * *

Dark found himself somewhere he hadn't been in a while. He could easily recognize the perpetual darkness that showed no direction, but he could easily see his own hands held out in front of him as if a light source originated from where he stood.

"_Why am I here..? It's only accessible if I'm deeply in REM..._" He mused to himself slowly, absolutely certain that he was in his mind again.

He felt an incredible surge of sadness strike him sharply when he quickly realized two facts right now: 1) He was completely alone, and this place was not nearly as tolerable now without someone (Most likely Mephiles...) to speak with to draw away the unnerving emptiness of this place, and 2) He hadn't had time to reconstruct it since it had been destroyed, and so it was nearly the same as when Iblis had burned and torn it all to pieces.

Nothing but a small pile of ash with a spring shaped binding in it in the darkness at his feet...

Dark almost jumped back, having not seen the remains of his dear notebook since it's destruction at his brother's fiery hands.

He swallowed and lowered himself to the ground to sit by it, bringing his knees up and folding his arms on them to rest his head on them, too.

The only physical thing he had left to hold onto that had to do with his dead twin... Was a pile of ash from him burning a notebook just to hear Dark shriek in fear because he felt like it.

Why hadn't he gotten rid of this thing, yet? There was no reason to keep it around, as it obviously didn't have good memories attached to it, but...

"Desperate to keep him from fading into nothingness, are you?"

Dark's eyes snapped wide at that voice. It was the same as the one that spoke to him earlier.

He sprung up front the ground, hands held into fists in front of him, ready to defend himself.

He was not ready to see a near perfect copy of himself before him. He was used to seeing copies, exact ones, but this one was not the case, and that really unnerved him. The irises were a purplish-pink, the fur was in much better condition than he had been in weeks, and with it's hands behind it's back, eyes half closed and mouth twisted slightly into a small and partly bared grin... This copy was much more confident and calm looking than Dark ever could now. If not for the strange eye color, this was indeed a "Perfect Dark".

Dark suppressed a shudder, knowing that there was nothing good to come from this entity. He could sense the shadow energy radiating off from it, even.

"Took me a moment to get away from those bothersome representations of your emotions to meet you face to face..." It explained calmly, brushing a hand against it's face in thought. "... Potential... Hmm..."

"_And just who are you supposed to be?_" Dark didn't let his guard down. "_I am sick of people taking my form and-_"

"Funny you should say that, given that you had to take someone else's to craft your own..." It chuckled. "As for who I am... I'm Dire. I am your assigned creature to take all the darkness and suffering I can from you... And might I add that you are _ripe_ with all that?" Dire clapped his hands together and inhaled excitedly. "Just my luck, too! It's so perfect!"

Dark scowled, not at all amused.

"Oh, and of course, I might as well make the introductions more formal, so allow me to show you my real form, as I can see you won't take me seriously looking like you!" Dire added.

In a wisp of purple smoke, he changed. And Dark caught off guard by what he saw: something resembling a fat blue bipedal, tailless dinosaur, with pink and purple spots decorating it's back that was lined with spikes, a horned head like a Jackson's Chameleon, stylized teeth, black sclera, purplish-pink irises, and eyes lined with pink. It was also about the size of a house cat, if not smaller.

That last fact was what did it. Dark couldn't help himself and burst into raucous laughter, greatly amused at how tiny and ridiculous looking this thing was. He clutched his side with one hand and pointed with the other, unable to speak from snorting and laughing so much, almost to the point of tears.

Compared to what he endured before this, Dire seemed to be nothing. This was what he had been stressing about? An oversized gecko?

Dire growled, not impressed by his reaction and with a squeak, hopped back before launching forward, and ramming Dark right in the stomach, knocking his breath out of him and sending him to the ground in a state of dazed surprise, quickly stopping his mocking.

"How _dare_ you mock me! I was being honest!" Dire's voice sounded in Dark's mind shrilly, as if he were communicating telepathically, as Dark couldn't see his mouth move. Dire leaned in Dark's face (as the shadow was still on the floor), and snorted through his nostrils.

Dark was anything but impressed. Despite being bowled over by a glowing creature the size of a dachshund, he glared in annoyance. He grabbed Dire by the foot, and flung him a good distance easily, Dire bouncing due to his round shape, flailing his stubby arms and legs helplessly as he tried to slow down, finally rolling to a stop on his back before jumping up as Dark got to his feet, brushing himself off.

"_Oh, please... I've faced blazing infernos... You're not that scary..._" Dark shook his head as Dire formed back into a copy in a puff of black smoke. "_I'll bet you're the weakest of your kind..._"

"Perhaps, but it only took one of my kind to control you." Dire grinned slightly, hardly bearing his teeth as he looked up at Dark while still crouched on the ground. "Says a lot about you... Weak willed, aren't you?"

Dark flinched and and inhaled sharply, the fur on his body stood on end, as did his quills, as his body went tense and his eyes went livid as he clenched his hands.

"_... Shut... Up..._" He growled dangerously. "_... You don't... You have no idea... I-I'll-_" He had a bit of trouble getting the right words, which Dire could see.

"Actually, I know more than you think." Dire cut across him. "I know what you can do, and what you love to do, and what you hate that you can do..." He stood up and walked over to Dark calmly. Dark thrusted his hands out to keep him back, but Dire grabbed one with an in no way comforting small smile. "See these claws? Sharper than razors, perhaps the toughest unknown material to science, never dulls..." He gave a dark grin, slumped a bit and raised the hand to his own face then dragged it roughly down from under his eye to his cheek.

Dark watched in mute horror as his claws were used to tear into the side of the copy's face, blood dribbling down in crimson trails from deep gashes with Dire grinning twistedly.

"_... Y-you're sick!_" Dark sputtered, absolutely chilled by the sight of all this. He pulled his hand free and stared at the blood on it, unable to wipe it off without getting it back on himself somehow. "_How... How c-can you enjoy th-this!_"

"You used to love this kinda stuff, lapping blood off your fingers like it were candy residue..." Dire tilted his head one-eighty to stare at Dark. "I'm just trying to emulate it for you, as you seem to have forgotten about what you lo-"

"_SHUT UP!_" Dark screeched, and swung a fist at him, Dire turning his head on impact, falling to the ground. The purple eyed one shoved himself up a bit and looked up, Dark cringing a bit at the river of blood draining from his nose. He was sure he had broken it from the force of his punch.

Dire's smirk only deepened, much to his unease.

"Good effort, a lot of hate behind that... Let's try something a little more complex..." He got to his feet, Dark already sickened by the mess that had made of his face. "Break my neck..."

"_W-what..?_" Dark was getting disturbed now. He inhaled sharply and shook his head. His body was shivering, and his fur and quills were starting to rise up.

"Very well then... Since you lack the nerve..." Dire raised both hands to his face, seized opposite sides...

In the next thirty seconds, there was a sickening **CRACK**, followed by Dark's cry of fright as the other dropped to the floor, lifeless. Dark hands flew quickly up to his face, covering his mouth, shaking as his pupils shrank in horror. He felt sick at the sight, and stood in silent terror before the body twitched and in a puff of black and purple smoke, it changed back into the tiny dinosaur, appearing quite well and undamaged as it stood proudly on it's tiny three toed feet, shifting from side to side.

"Just so we're clear... I'm invulnerable! As long as Dark Gaia is strong and well, you can't get rid of me!" Dire's voice sounded in his head. "I'll regenerate, as if you never got me at all! Are we clear as day?"

"_W-why didn't you j-just tell me th-that in the f-first place..?_" Dark stuttered, still shell shocked by what he just saw.

Dire formed back into his copy look, no trace of injuries now. He bared his teeth widely in a huge grin.

"I know you... You're a visual learner, and you won't believe anything without solid proof." He explained, taking a step toward, Dark too scared to move. "I think we got the point across very clear, don't you?" When Dark didn't answer, he grabbed his head and forced him to nod, Dark biting down on his own lip in fear. "Good, good... Time for you to go now... Oh..." He added as he shifted his grip to hold Dark under the chin. "Don't worry, Logic hasn't forgotten you... He's just... tied up at the moment..." Dark's eyes widened more in horror as Dire chuckled before applying pressure on a spot on Dark's neck. "Sweet dreams..."

There was an uncharacteristic awkward pause as nothing happened. Dire giggled nervously as Dark raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, new to this... Can you tell me where to hit?" Dark hesitantly pointed to a place on his neck. "Here?"

"_N-no... You n-need to-_"

"Know what? Screw it..." Dire grabbed Dark's head with both hands and slammed it into the floor.

Dark woke up screaming. 


	17. More iPod Chapters!

Or he should have, at least.

His ability to vocalize had been rendered useless for the time being, and all he could manage was a silent wail that couldn't hope to filter past the door of the room.

Sitting up quickly, he scooted back until his back bumped against the frame of the bed behind him. Sitting there in shock, he held a hand to one side of his head, bringing his knees up to shrink up against the bed frame, and clutching the blanket that had been on him as he stared with wide eyes at the floor.

He didn't know what disturbed him more: that the corruption was able to speak with him that easily, or that it was not hesitant to show what sort of damage it could take, gleefully subjecting itself to such mutilations.

Unnerving as well: alluding to Logic and implying that it was the reason Dark hadn't heard much from his knowledgeable side.

For the first time now, he looked around he room and found it to be empty, save for himself. The clock read half past nine in the morning, so he could easily gather that it had been more than twelve hours since he had last looked at a clock.

Then he realized that the last thing he remembered was being in the living room, hearing Mephiles get chewed out for what he did the night before.

He was confused about the passage of time, and honestly could not recall the time between then and how he ended up here. Maybe he'll hear an explanation later...

He couldn't fall back asleep now, unsurprisingly, but oddly, he didn't feel as drained as he had been so for the past week. Perhaps just the adrenaline rush at the moment..?

Taking a moment to compose himself, he pondered on what he should do next. Obviously, Mephiles would suspect something was wrong, and would pester him about it. Dark also didn't like the idea of discussing matters of concern around anyone other than Mephiles, so he would have to wait until they were both alone, which would mean having to wait a while.

When he felt that he was calm and collected enough, he got to his feet and left the room in search of the hedgehog.

The house was oddly silent, and Dark wondered if everyone left to go somewhere under the assumption that he'd be asleep the entire time.

With that thought, he paused that the transition point of the hallway and the living room, almost too nervous to venture further, away from the safety of the direct center of the house.

A cat mewed and he jumped, a bit startled before realizing, after that moment of stupidity, that it was his cat, who was now weaving around his feet, rubbing his furry little body against him.

He smiled slightly, sitting on the floor to be at Tape's level, the cat eagerly climbing onto his lap, reaching his paws up against Dark's chest as the cat lowered the rest of himself down.

"Mmmm?"

"_I just don't understand why you like me so much..._" Dark mused while trying to suppress a laugh at the cat's silliness.

He saw something out of the corner of his eye, and he grew tense. He had a very good idea what it was.

"_... Why are you haunting me..?_" He said in a low voice, moving away from it while clutching Tape protectively. "_Realistically... There is no reason... I didn't kill you... I never did anything wrong to you... I wasn't even conscious the rest of the fight. I had nothing to do with your death..._"

"_Well, technically-_"

"_No! I don't want to hear it!_" Dark snapped angrily, baring his teeth. "_Do you even remember what you did to me? Abandonment? Assault? Abuse? Attempted murder? Let's not forget the mind games and complete shattering of my very sanity!_"

Iblis cringed a bit, folding his ears back. Dark continued in a low hiss as the cat jumped out of his arms in confusion.

"_It's your fault I'm insane! It's your fault I have anger issues and barely trust anyone! You probably started my insomnia! The fur on my side will probably never grow the same way again! I have frequent headaches, and the thin crack in my skull does nothing to help! Because of you, I'm always going to be in pain one way or another!_"

Iblis uncharacteristically seemed remorseful, which caused Dark to chuckle... well, darkly (hey, sometimes it's hard to pick words with that name!).

"_The best part about right now is that I know you're not really here._" He grinned darkly. "_Because I know that you'd never be worried about me or care about what you've done._"

"_... That's all you remember about..?_" Iblis trailed off faintly, appearing to be at a loss for words.

"_Of course! What do you expect? After all that?_" Dark narrowed his eyes dangerously. "_How does that make you feel? To know that one person who should know most about your existence... remembers you as nothing more than a crazed lunatic who never realized how much and how often he crossed the line? A psychopath who thoroughly enjoy terrorizing his younger twin brother for the sole reason that his own brother was deemed as a, if I recall correctly, 'worthless byproduct that paled in comparison to your superiority and status as the most important part of the project'_"

"_Dark, I-_"

"_How does it feel to know that I was driven stark raving mad as I watched you deteriorate into that horrid, savage monster? Helplessly watching you be replaced, knowing I couldn't do a thing about it because I didn't understand what was going on?_" Dark clenched his hands tightly. "_Yeah... I know you're dead. The only difference between what I know and what they tell me is that I know for a fact that you died eleven years ago..._"

The silence that followed was long before it was broken by the apparition.

"_If that's what you believe... Then why are you even bothering to talk to me..?_"

"_Maybe I wasn't clear enough..._" Dark softened his expression slightly, but still held a glare nonetheless. "_I'm insane. That's all. And it's all because of you..._"

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his head, causing his eyes to go wide and his pupils to shrink as his body seized up, making him rigid. He grabbed his head quickly, not noticing that Iblis was gone from sight.

The sound of the front door opening was quite deafening on his ears at the moment, and he squeaked in pain.

He half expected Mephiles to be there, and was surprised to squint up and find Shadow instead.

"_... Where's Mephy..?_"

"Rouge took him into town today... He really needed to get out of the house." Shadow shrugged, barely appearing to be concerned for him. "Up until then, he hardly left your side after you collapsed last night..."

"_... Is that what happened..?_" Dark mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut, not caring right now to snap a the hedgehog he hated so much. "_... Too bright in here..._"

"I'm guessing a migraine..?"

"_Why do you care..?_"

"Meph asked me to check on you often, and help if you need it..." Shadow looked up at the ceiling. "I'm only doing this because he asked me to..."

"_I'm awake now, so I'll handle everything from here..._"

"Nice try, but Mephiles is counting on me..." Shadow shook his head and reach down, intending on at least getting the shade to couch to wait out his severe headache. "I know we're never on good terms, but at least we share common ground with Meph-"

The moment Shadow started to pull him up, the movement mixed with his horrid head pain caused Dark to vomit what little food he had in his stomach before he could stop himself. Right on Shadow.

Shadow froze in complete and utter disgust and shock, his expression contorting into something to reflect that as Dark shared an equal face at first. Dark recovered quickest, blinking and shaking his head slowly to not agitate his migraine more.

"_I don't know whether to die of embarrassment... Or laugh at your misfortune..._" He muttered, pale face red from all this.

Shadow choked and coughed, looking down at his stained chest fur, whispering an exclamation of repulsion, which might have made Dark laugh if it wasn't his own barf on him.

"_... I'm just... Gonna crawl to the couch in shame, now..._" He mumbled, feeling quite dejected as he carefully left to hide as Shadow stood there, arms up, choking on words as he examined himself, knowing he had to clean this off right away before it set in.

* * *

Taking no time to remove his clothing articles (if you can call them that...), Shadow was already scrubbing himself down with a bar of soap viciously, hoping he wasn't too late to save the precious whiteness of his patch of chest fluff. After that, he took an extra precaution and reached for a bottle of fur shampoo, and only after he scrubbed and lathered it on did he realize that he grabbed Rouge's fruit and flower scented one instead of his, which was whatever "Rock Spring and Renewal" was supposed to smell like.

Deciding that he could easily cover up the girly scent with his more manly ("hedgehogly"?) one, he snatched up his and squeezed the bottle, only to find that there was hardly a coin sized dollop left, which was not enough to cancel out the strong smell of some kind of flower and tropical fruit.

"This cannot be happening..." Shadow moaned, squeezing the bottle more, getting nothing.

Grabbing the only other bottle left, which was Mephiles' preference, he hoped to be able to at least use that. Wondering what fragrance the crystal hedgehog picked out this time, Shadow read the label.

"Okay... Peaches... And Cream..?" He said slowly, raising an eyebrow and shaking his head in disbelief. "That boy is a sissy... (Sigh) Might as well, since it can't get any worse..."

Wanna bet? The combined fragrances caused Shadow to smell like a cross between the garden and the produce section of a major supermarket chain store, the scent of a gallon of fresh milk splattered on the floor three aisles over from a clumsy, screaming kid included. We've all been there at least one right? You know who you are...

Dark just laughed. And he wasn't the last.

Mephiles was also excited to see that Dark was finally awake when he and Rouge got home a couple hours later (by then, Dark's migraine had died down on it's own considerably).

"Check out some of what we got!" Mephiles dumped out a bag in front of him, and pulled up a few things, showing Dark. "This goes over your eyes so the light doesn't bug you while you're trying to sleep, which might be helpful for migraines, and you put these in your ears to muffle the sound, which can help too."

"_Wish I had these earlier..._" Dark commented, grabbing the eye thing (a piece of soft fabric with an elastic band) to examine it, glad that it was blue and not green.

"Oh... You had a migraine while we we're gone..?"

"He threw up on me!" Shadow shouted, gesturing furiously at Dark.

Everyone else went silent, expecting Dark to snap... But Dark only laughed, throwing everyone off by surprise.

"_Honestly, I'm more amused at what he had to do to get it off than I am angry or embarrassed..._" He snorted.

"So that's why you smell kinda weird..." Mephiles looked at Shadow, who was still holding a towel around his waist, and damp from quills to toes.

"It's the shampoos! I had to use all three!" Shadow said defensively. "Now, if you'll excuse me... I'm going to find clean clothes so I'm not standing here, naked..." He said, referring to his gloves, socks, shoes, and Rings.

"But... We're always naked..." Mephiles added slowly. "Mobian boys don't really need clothes... So... What's the difference?"

Once that was brought to his attention, Shadow stopped in mid step to the room, eye twitching when he realized that meant that Mephiles and Dark were technically nudists by Mobian standards, despite having their feet and hands covered by crystals...

He calmly went to the room, and you could hear him trying to beat the thought out of his mind with a shoe. 


	18. More iPod fun, and Metal Sonic appears!

"_... I don't know about this..._" Dark mumbled as he shook his head slowly.

Mephiles had managed to convince him to actually leave the house, even more so that they were in town, and more surprisingly... Shadow wasn't following them to keep an eye on Dark, probably because of yesterday's incident.

Mephiles looked at him innocently, noticing that Dark had taken up a timid nature all of a sudden, perhaps due to being out of his comfort zone. Every time someone passed by them, Dark quickly looked at the ground as if hoping that would make him unnoticeable. He also kept shifting on what part of the sidewalk he was on, as if he couldn't decide that it was better to be closer to the cars, or closer to the doors of the buildings, as he kept retreating to the side with the least movement when either a car or a person moved passed.

"You're probably just nervous because you haven't been out in a long time..." Mephiles said in a half questioning, half suggesting tone, a little perplexed at his jumpiness. "It's kinda a big change in things, so it's maybe a bit jarring?"

"_... Perhaps a little..._" Dark bit his lip and looked away.

"Same thing used to happen to me before..." The hedgehog offered. "Once the overwhelming part wears off, it's not as bad as you think..."

Dark grunted in response, half wondering how he was going to explain his encounter with Dire, not knowing how much the creature would know about it, and what it might do to him for telling. It reminded him sickeningly of part of the incident with Iblis...

"Are you alright..?" Mephiles added, looking at him with concern now. "You're kinda pale now..."

"_... I'm always pale... It's my fur color on my face..._"

"No, I mean you look a bit sick..." Mephiles shook his head, watching him closely. "We could just come back tomorrow if you want..."

"_... No... I'm fine..._" He lied.

Mephiles seemed anything but convinced, but the glare he received made him not question any further.

"At least put the hat on so your ears don't freeze off..." He added, seeing that Dark was just holding it, wadded up, in his hand. "It matches the scarf, anyway."

"_I look stupid..._" Dark protested. "_I can stand colder temperatures better anyway..._"

"You don't look stupid, it looks fine on you..."

"_I don't want to draw attention to myself..._"

"Not having anything while everyone else does kinda does..."

Dark sighed and pulled the cap on his head, frowning discontentedly. Leave it to Mephy to have picked out the one that most childish.

"Aw, it _does_ look like a Chao head!" He cooed happily, his hat matching that action by being embroidered with closed eye expression happy Chao face, topped with a heart to mimic the emotion dot. "I really think the sleepy face hat works for you." Mephiles had the same expression as his own hat, while Dark could have passed more for the angry Chao variant.

"_... And _I'm_ the younger one..?_" He muttered under his breath too low to be heard.

"I don't know why you wouldn't try it on back at the house..." Mephiles reached up at Dark's hat and adjusted it, as Dark had it on haphazardly, with the face twisted to the side. "If it looks cute on me, it'll look cute on you..."

"_I'm not supposed to be cute!_" Dark snapped, frowning and puffing his quills. "_Do you honestly think I care if I look cute or not? _"

"If you're gonna look me, you can't help it..." Mephiles giggled. "Think about it... We're fluffy. Fluffy chest. Fluffy cheek fur. Fluff around our eyes. Even with the big crystal claws and sharp parts, we got fluff. And round eye shapes. Big eyes-"

"_With colors that would turn anyone away, because they're unnatural..._" Dark interrupted, rolling said eyes.

"Nothing wrong with strange pigments..." Mephiles said, tilting his head. "You should have seen that big purple cat back in Mystic Ruins... His are really small. Like... real cat type eyes. And bright yellow... No white at all. So, we're not the only ones with odd eyes."

"_You have no pupils at all, and mine look like they belong to a cat, not a hedgehog... At least your's aren't so bright..._" Dark glared, stopping in his tracks.

"You're just making something out of nothing..." Mephiles sighed. "You worry too much about things no one has even brought up... I mean, has _any_one told you that about your eyes?"

"_... No..._"

"Then don't worry about it. If no one has said anything, then it's not an issue. You can see with them, right?" Dark nodded. "See? They work, that's good enough."

"_..._" Dark simply snorted through his nose.

"... I know you we're a little freaked out the other night..." Mephiles added in a slightly softer voice as he pulled Dark by the scarf to get him to keep walking. Dark looked up, a little confused. The hedgehog clarified. "After you fainted... That wasn't my fault... Was it..?"

"_I don't think-_"

"I was so scared that I gave you a heart attack or something from what I did..." Mephiles bit his lip and looked at the ground, letting go of the scarf. "'Cause you just collapsed... No warning or anything..."

"_I was exhausted... It would have happened with or without you forcing me to get your butt out of the street..._" Dark explained, shaking his head. "_Did you forget that I'd been suffering from insomnia prior to that..?_"

"... N-no... But you normal give me a warning or something... Or I could sense it... And that really caught me off guard..." Mephiles admitted. "But later, after you fainted, and we got you to the room... You were really scared. You didn't show it... But I could feel it. Not like startled scared... I mean like you haven't been like that since..." He trailed off, not sure if he should bring up the name now, considering the last reactions.

"_It's not him..._" Dark understood who he meant. "_We have something completely new on our hands..._"

"It's that... That virus thing... Isn't it..?" Mephiles looked up, tearing up a little. "It's starting to get worse, isn't it? No matter how much we keep you inside, at night?"

"_I don't think it makes any difference whether or not I go outside... I don't think that works at all..._" Dark closed his eyes and shook his head. "_Until it's gone... It's just going to get worse..._"

"... I wish I could do something, anything to help..." Mephiles said quietly. "I feel so useless right now, just watching you suffer, knowing that what I do won't make a bit of difference for you..."

"_You're wrong..._" Dark shook his head, and looked up at him. "_Just knowing that you're here makes all the difference... I have a reason not to give in and lose my mind... You keep me sane..._"

"I do..?" Mephiles stared at him. Dark nodded.

"_I don't know what it is... Or how it works... But I just know it happens..._" Dark explained, staring back. "_Haven't you noticed? Before all that... I was pretty much a lunatic. Now... Well, I'm still a bit crazy... But much more manageable. When we're together... Most of the time, I'm calm. That, and I end up doing things I would never do otherwise when you're about to get hurt..._"

At the last part, Mephiles couldn't help but snort a bit, gaining a frown from Dark.

"Dark, it's not a mystery..." He explained, smiling slightly. "And it's not some kind of magic..."

"_... I still don't get it..._" Dark shook his head.

"Remember that discussion we had a long time ago?" Mephiles said. Dark shook his head again. "The one about the different forms of love? After you freaked out because I said your cat loves you?" This time, Dark nodded, but very slowly, as if he could hardly remember the incident.

"_... Hit my head so many times, have trouble remembering the minor events..._"

"I didn't think it was minor..." Mephiles blinked and folded his ears down, looking a bit hurt.

Dark flinched.

"_I didn't mean it wasn't important, I mean that... Oh, geeze..._" He fidgeted nervously. "_... Y-you know I have memory lapses... I might forget somethings sometimes, and other days, I'll remember them... It doesn't make a bit of difference if it's important or not... I-I'm sorry..._" He added desperately.

Mephiles stared before laughing nervously.

"No, no... I'm sorry..." He said. "I know it's not your fault..."

"_... It's Iblis'..._" Dark muttered, looking at the ground.

There was a silence before Mephiles added: "You don't need to worry about him anymore... Even if you still see him, he can't hurt you anymore..."

"_But what if-?_"

"I won't let it happen."

Without meaning to, and before he could stop himself, Dark snapped and rounded on him angrily.

"_And just what do you think _you_ can do about it! You can't fight well, and you're always scared of everything!_"

Mephiles flinched, nervously tugging at his scarf. Stammering, he said: "... W-well... I-I'd... I w-would... I w-would try..." Swallowing, he tried to speak more clearly. "I would... I-I'd try my best... L-like I did when we had to fight him... And I-I kept standing up f-for you... Re-remember..?"

Dark blinked and caught himself.

"_Sorry... I didn't mean to snap at you like that..._" He looked away, wrapping his hand absentmindedly in his scarf. "_I know you mean well... I know you try... But you know just as well as I that without help, you'd just freeze up..._"

"Someday, I'll be tough like you and Shadow!" Mephiles countered, shifting his ears forward under his hat and looking determined. "I mean it! I won't scare so easily, and then I'll be able to keep everyone I care about safe! And no one would have to worry about me!"

Hearing this from a hedgehog in a happy loving Chao hat and a scarf made Dark a little more than just humored. Mephiles even whined when his brother chuckled, as if he didn't take him seriously.

"_Mephy... Why are you trying so hard to be something you're not?_" Dark pried and smiled almost playfully.

"Because I can't do anything the way I am! I feel like everyone just _has_ to drag me around!" Mephiles explained. "I can't run fast like other hedgehogs, I can't swim, I can't Spin Dash, I'm not strong like super strong, and most of my special abilities are either useless or horrible!"

"_And just what is so useless and horrible about being able to heal fast and heal others?_" Dark raised an eyebrow.

"It still doesn't work fast enough, and when I try to heal someone else, I feel the same pain... Shadow makes me stop when I get to that point, and it doesn't heal all the way..."

"_Did you forget that that ability saved my life?_"

"But it didn't fix you all the way, and you still had to stay at the hospital... And you still have the marks..." Mephiles' eyes trailed to Dark's lower left side, where his fur grew strangely due to being torn into, with several very thin bald streaks where he had been scarred. "Exactly in the same place where he got you the first time, even..."

"_Not all your abilities are as bad as you say they are..._"

"I can see bad memories, most of my special moves are defensive at best, I can predict bad events in my dreams, and I blow up the microwave when I get too emotional... Let's not forget my feral state of mind, which is really nothing more than me being a freaked out oversized critter. Acting the same as any other cornered animal..."

"_Well, you're fire proof..._"

"Just my body... I can still feel the heat..."

Dark was about to snap at him for being so negative before he realized that Mephiles' fur was standing on end down his back and on his shoulders.

"_What's wrong?_" He asked, knowing that that only happened when Mephiles was scared or sensed something that was... off.

"I don't know... But I suddenly don't want to be here..." Mephiles stared at him with wide eyes, biting down on his lip. "I wanna go home..."

"_If you're scared, then we should-_"

"I'm not scared!" Mephiles snapped, shaking his head, pulling his arm away before Dark could grab it. "It's probably nothing!"

"_I know what you're trying to do, and stop it._" Dark shook his head and grabbing the hedgehog's wrist. "_It's alright if you're scared and you want to leave... It doesn't make you weak or a baby or whatever you think just because you don't-_"

"I'm not scared!" Mephiles shouted, his body language quite contradicting. "I'm fi-!"

Dark clamped a hand over his mouth to shut him up, staring off to the side intently.

"_Mephiles... I am not asking you again; I'm telling you. We are leaving. Now._" Dark said in a low voice, bringing his narrowed eyes to look right at the hedgehog. "_Don't let go... Stay close_"

"D-Dark..?"

"_I don't know what's going on... But I saw something that was shaped like a Mobian... But it doesn't move like a Mobian..._"

"Is it d-d-dangerous..?" Mephiles squeaked.

"_I don't know... But if it's not... Then why is it trying so hard to not be seen by us, even in broad daylight..?_" Dark said in a low voice. When Mephiles tried to look the same direction, Dark snapped in a strained tone: "_Don't let it know we've seen it!_"

Mephiles froze.

"What are we gonna do..?"

"_Keep your eyes on me... We'll head down the street for a while, take a right, then double back... Then head straight back..._" Dark said lowly. "_Like I said before, don't let go... I don't want to lose track of you..._"

Mephiles shuddered and gave a slow nod as Dark pulled at him to get him to walk.

"... I want Shadow and Rouge..." The hedgehog moaned, squeezing his eyes shut.

"_I know... We'll be there soon enough..._"

"P-promise..?"

"_You act as if something is going to happen..._" Dark narrowed his eyes. "_Yes, I promise... Just do what I say..._"

"D-dark... I think it's closer... It s-sounds like..." Mephiles whimpered. "Th-the last t-time I heard something like th-this was... Oh... No..." His eyes went wide when he realized it. "D-dark... You're right... Th-that's not a M-mobian..."

"_How do you know..?_"

"B-because I've heard something like it b-before..."

"_Where?_" Dark pulled him closer to close up the walking distance between them.

"Uh... B-before you surfaced..."

"_What are you talking abou-?_" Dark cut himself off when he realized Mephiles meant before the two of them split, when Dark was thought of nothing more than a split personality figment. "_Oh... I... I see..._" Dark muttered, a little struck by the reminder of how bad he was. "_Uh... But, I wasn't there for that part..._"

"Sh-shadow and I were attacked by a robot l-lookalike of him... That th-the egg guy sent... Th-that he wanted to... He wanted..." Mephiles trailed off, afraid of offending Dark.

"_Wanted to resurface me..?_" Dark finished, looking a little disheartened. "_Don't be afraid to explain it... That was the past, and we both know it... I won't be offended..._"

"I j-just want to get out of here..." Mephiles moaned pitifully.

When Dark suggested a quick detour and hiding in an alley, Mephiles nearly lost it, causing Dark to clamp a hand over his mouth.

"_Do you want to be found!_"

"It didn't work last time!" Mephiles pulled back, planting his free hand on the wall to keep himself in place, tearing up slightly. "Sh-shadow and I tried it that time, and we still got found! No!"

Dark covered his mouth again and said softly: "_I'm not going to let that happen... we have a ninety eight percent chance of getting out of this without a problem..._"

"Knowing our luck, this is the two percent..." Mephiles said muffled, staring back with wide eyes.

"_Quiet!_" Dark snapped, pulling him forward forcefully enough to get him to stumble in the alley. Mephiles just stood there, so Dark grabbed him and pulled him to the end of the alley, behind some stacked empty wooden crates, many showing signs of termite damage."_Stay down..._"

Mephiles shivered and hid his face in Dark's side, mumbling "Please go away, please go away..." repeatedly, squeezing his eyes shut. Dark placed a hand on his head to try and calm him down, noticing that Mephiles' aura was showing faintly. He knew the poor hedgehog was terrified, but all he could do was keep calm so Mephiles wouldn't have a full blown panic attack.

It was silent for a good ten minutes, with nothing but their breaths, heartbeats and Mephiles' low, muffled whimpers.

Dark's eyes adjusted to some small white flecks falling to the ground, one landing on his nose and melting. Soon, there were many of these thin flakes, which Dark could see was snow. He held his breath and exhaled slowly, trying to control the vapors of heat leaving his mouth.

"_... Mephy... I'm going to look and see if it's clear..._"

Mephiles shook his head quickly and held onto him tightly.

"N-no... Something b-bad is gonna happen..."

"_I'll be back..._" Dark pried him off carefully. "_... I promise..._"

Mephiles groaned, staring at him with wide, tearing eyes. He didn't like the idea of it.

Dark carefully emerged from behind the crates, taking his hat off to leave his ears unobstructed. Each breath brought more smokelike vapors in front of him, rising up and disappearing into the air. Looking from side to side, sweeping his eyes across the alley, looking up and down, listening for the slightest thing out of place.

He spun around, and smacked right into something, getting knocked to the ground.

This "something" was a hedgehog shaped robot. It's appearance reminded Dark of that hedgehog who was suffering from that form change, with red eyes and black "sclera", which was really something akin to an LCD display, tiny bright red LED lights making up the iris shapes. Unlike Sonic... This thing didn't have a friendly air about it at all.

But to Dark, he couldn't see how this thing looked dangerous, other than the sharp clawlike fingers, which was nothing new to Dark, who had a set of his own.

"_You've gotta be kidding me..._" Dark growled.

"I don't want to be hear any more than you do..."

Dark blinked.

"_Great... It talks, _and_ it's got an attitude..._" He picked himself up off the ground. "_I suppose there's a reason why you're following us, and scaring the daylights out of my brother..._"

A clawlike finger slid up the side of the metallic muzzle in an action similar to thinking as the lighted eyes looked upward.

"Not much, other than I'm supposed to bring you back to... My creator..." There was a hint of resentment in the robotic voice, as if he didn't like who tasked him.

"_Oh, no you won't_" Dark snapped, stepping back. "_I like where I am just fine, thank you very much!_"

"It's an order, I have no choice." The robot's eyes flashed quite literally, brightening slightly at his words.

"No! Don't!" Mephiles's voice sounded.

Dark spun to look over his shoulder at the hedgehog, who emerged from his hiding place, and stood between Dark and the threat, arms out to the side.

"_You idiot! Get back over there before-!_"

Before Dark could finish, he cut himself off when the robot struck Mephiles forcefully in the head. The hedgehogs eyes went completely blank as the force of it caused him to hit the nearby wall to the left, striking it and collapsing to the ground lifelessly.

Dark's eyes went wide and he shrieked, hands held up in a clawing fashion, but facing himself. That's what happened first.

Second, Dark's eyes shifted and angry glint flashed in them, a growl rolling from his throat as he lunged at the robot, grabbing it's arm, pulling it, spinning three sixty in place, and flinging it's body into a brick wall opposite of Mephiles, actually embedding it from the force.

Then Dark snapped back to reality and immediately rushed to Mephiles, who was unconscious. Not wasting any time, he pulled Mephiles onto his back, keeping mind to keep him secure and hurried out of there.

By this time, there was a thin layer of snow and ice on the ground, making slushy footprint which made Dark curse repeatedly. No way they could hide so easily now.

Dark tried to counter it by running in the thinner areas, but found it difficult due to ice patches.

An odd sent hit his nose and he realized that he needed to check Mephiles more thoroughly. He ducked into another, much smaller alley behind a dumpster this time and set Mephiles down, seeing right away that his hat he still had on was stained red and torn. Carefully lifting it, Dark could confirm Mephiles had a slight head wound, and was bleeding from it.

Dark pulled the hat off and took off his own scarf, wadding it up and holding it to the injury, trying to help it let up.

"_Told you to stay there... Didn't listen to me..._" Dark muttered half furiously, trying to blink his eyes clear. "_Lucky you're not dead... Stupid hedgehog..._"

Dark shook him, trying to get him to wake up.

"_Come on! You can't leave me alone!_" Dark pleaded. "_Mephy! Please! Wake up!_"

Mephiles' eyes opened slightly, but he looked as if he didn't recognize anything at all, or what was going on. Or for that matter, not even awake at all.

Dark shook him again.

A gasp reached Mephiles' ears deafly, as he was let go and dropped to the ground on his side, seeing only shapes and not registering them. A familiar cry of fright triggered a reflex, slowly and weakly reaching his arm out towards it. His head hurt too much to think... The last thing he heard before darkness was his name. 


	19. Chip's in this one, more iPod fun

**WHAM!**

Dark bounced back, uncurling from his strike as he landed on the floor and sprung again.

**WHAM!**

Still nothing. Panting and gulping from being out of breath, he clenched his fists and punched at the wall again and again. He had been at it for a half an hour at most by now, perplexed that the clear wall had yet to give way.

"_It's not... It's not glass, for sure..._" He mumbled between gasps for air, starting to wear out from working so hard at freeing himself, and not getting anywhere. The warm temperature didn't help much either, which he found quite uncomfortable.

His fur slick with sweat, he tried to catch his breath before he tried again. This time, he struck with his claws, hoping to wear away at the wall enough to punch through. Sparks flew and he quickly jumped back, terrified that something would catch fire.

"I don't think that's going to work..."

Dark flinched and spun around, finding out that he wasn't the only one in the cell.

A green, tan bellied, tan armed, tan muzzled hedgehog with peculiar black markings looked back at him from the ground. He seemed to have more quill clumps than an average Mobian hedgehog, with two thin ones growing the same direction as his ears, which the grew behind, two outside ones growing downward at the bottom and the rest bent up, each tipped in black. Markings around his eyes covered his face like a mask, with two black tufts sprouting from his forehead. Streaks of two, also black, lined under his eyes, which were blue and red, with blue being the left eye, and red being the right. His feet and legs were black up to his knees, even, and he wore nothing more than brown sandals and black wristbands, no gloves.

Immediately put off my the excessive use of green and black, which seemed to oddly be his all natural fur coloration, Dark just stared, wondering how he hadn't noticed him before.

"I'm Shu, who are you?"

Dark just looked at him before returning to his task of trying to escape, not saying so much as a word.

Shu sighed.

"I don't think that's a good idea..."

Dark ignored him, rolled into a ball, spun in place and hit the wall... Ricocheting off at an angle and hitting the floor hard, skidding on his back.

"The walls are made up of a material that's meant to contain his own robots... I doubt it's gonna give for you..."

"_I don't see you trying anything..._" Dark snapped. "_I have to get out of here right now._"

"Well, obviously, if you're a prisoner." Shu shrugged.

"_Someone very dear to me was attacked and injured in the process of my capture._" Dark growled, glaring in Shu's direction. "_He is laying in an alley as we speak, quite possibly snowed on, hardly conscious, and only I know where he's at..._" Dark shifted his ears back, baring his teeth. "_I would appreciate it if you stopped trying to shoot down every one of my attempts._"

"Is he a good friend..?" Shu seem unfazed by Dark's aggression.

"_Brother._" The shadow corrected swiftly.

"I had a brother a long time ago." Shu looked up again.

Noticing the use of past tense, Dark gained a slight bit of interest.

"_Had..?_"

"I did something stupid..." Shu half closed his eyes. "I don't want to talk about it. I'm Shu, by the way."

"_You already introduced yourself..._"

"I know... You just haven't told me who you are yet. It's only fair, since you know me now."

Dark was a little bit amused at this logic. He had expected this kid to be annoying, and hadn't wanted to bother with him, but realized that he judged too soon.

"_I've always been called 'Dark'. Just 'Dark'._" He explained, picking himself up off the floor. "_It just kinda stuck as my name years ago._"

"Didn't your parents name you something?" Shu looked at him after looking at the ground.

Dark twitched a bit at that.

"_I... I don't..._" He stammered before inhaling sharply, and glaring again. "_Watch it. You're getting too far into things you shouldn't be getting in to._"

"What? I just asked about-"

"_SHUT UP!_" Dark barked, gaining silence from the hedgehog.

* * *

Mephiles was starting to come around. His head hurt terribly, and his nose itched. He sneezed, curling slightly, realizing slowly that he felt sick. He moaned.

"Hey! I think he's waking up!" An unfamiliar voice shouted over a loud roaring sound.

Mephiles opened his eyes slightly, squeezing them shut quickly when the brightness made it too painful to see for a moment. Then he eased them open again, seeing a blurred shape in front of him. He blinked his eyes clear and he could see a mauve face with yellow eyes looking right at him. He realized this small doglike creature with tiny fairy wings was sitting on his chest, leaning forward and watching him closely, while Mephiles lay on his back.

"Sonic! His eyes are open!" The pixie dog shouted, looking over to his side. "What should I do now?"

"I don't think we're much further from the next place, Chip!" A somewhat familiar voice called back. "Tails! Are you sure you can handle him while we find the next temple!"

"Depends on how bad it is!" Yet another somewhat familiar voice called back, opposite of the other. "It looks like hypothermia and some kind of hit from an animal or something! We'll have to wait until we land before I can give a clear diagnosis!"

Mephiles didn't quite understand what was going on. He was still trying to process what must have happened before now.

"I'm positive he's that kid Shadow and Rouge look after!" Sonic shouted over the loud buzzing sound.

"What! Rouge and Shadow had a kid!" Tails shouted back.

"No! I said he's probably that kid they kinda took in! I think it was... Mikey or something!"

Mephiles closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath, which the fairy dog caught.

"I think he said his name is... Meff-less?" He shouted.

"Mephiles! Yeah, that sounds right!" Sonic confirmed. "I've seen him at their place, usually hiding! I think Shadow said he was shy or something like that! Apparently, they found him in Soleanna! No family, or anything!"

"That was nice of them!" Tails added. "I think I saw him there, too! Wasn't he the one who gave us the Emeralds!"

"Now that you mention it, I think so!"

While the two of them continued talking, Chip brought his attention back to Mephiles.

"Do you know me? I don't remember if we've met before." He asked. "I lost my memory, so Sonic and I are asking everyone we meet if they've seen me before. So far, no one has."

Mephiles opened one eye to look and him, and shook his head real slowly.

"Oh. That's okay, there's still a lot I can ask." Chip shifted his ears down slightly. "Sonic calls me 'Chip' for now. I don't think that's my real name, but I like it."

Mephiles mumbled something, which Chip could hear, being so close.

"Oh. We're in an airplane. Why do you ask?"

Mephiles whispered something in a strained voice, looking a bit paler.

"Huh. Hold on..." Chip looked up and over the back of the seat in front of him. "Hey, Tails! What's 'airsick'?"

"It means being in a plane makes you throw up. Why?"

"Meff-less said he's airsick." Chip didn't seem to see the seriousness of the situation here. "What do you mean by 'throw up'? Like, he's gonna toss something?"

Tails seemed a bit panicked now.

"Get him one of the bags before he gets sick!"

"But he's already airsick."

"Oh, Chaos on Mobius! This is not happening!" Tails shouted, switching on autopilot to let go of the controls and rummage through the satchel himself. "I just had it reupholstered in here! Where are they!"

Tails then froze at the sound he was dreading, pinning his ears back, his blue eyes big and wide as he turned his head slowly to look over his shoulder, a look of absolute disgust and fear written all over his face.

Chip and Sonic, who was riding on the tail of the plane, holding onto a sturdy handlebar to keep from falling off, looked over at their new riding buddy, who was sitting up now, hands to his mouth, eyes watery and sick pale face red with embarrassment. Sonic and Chip looked back at Tails, who looked like he was going to have a screaming fit, pulling his ears in opposite directions, squeaking in speechlessness, no words to microbe how he felt at the moment.

"Eeeeeeeewwwwwww..." Sonic and Chip said at the same time.

* * *

"It's getting dark... He said they would back before then..." Shadow pulled back the blinds and peered outside. "I don't like this... I should have gone with them..."

Rouge had been trying to keep him from worrying all day, but had to admit she felt a bit uneasy about the situation. Mephiles had promised to be back by the time the sun set, and the both of them knew that Mephiles was very precise about time. The both of them also knew that Mephiles was scared to go out passed the mailbox at night.

"Every time he's alone with him, something happens..." Shadow growled.

"You're exaggerating..." Rouge offered, knowing it wasn't that far of a stretch. "But it's not right to assume that Dark did something he could have very well not have."

"After what's gone on this week?"

"You antagonized him, too." She reminded him. "It's not entirely his fault for his behavior. You know that he hates being goaded by you. And it's not like you've tried to be pleasant with him."

"I tried, and he threw up on me!" Shadow tossed back.

Rouge shook her head, sighing in exasperation. Shadow would never drop it if he didn't get some form of retribution.

An hour passed, and the street lamps turned on and the snow fell more heavily. Shadow narrowed his eyes.

"It's getting late. I'm going out there." He said, going to the closet and pulling out the hat and scarf he saved from the time they were in Ice Cap. He grabbed the furry lined hooded jacket and tossed it to Rouge. "Something happened, or he would have been here by now. We'll run, so I can save Chaos Control in case he's hurt..."

Rouge nodded without a word, knowing he was right. Mephiles would have been back by now...

Within fifteen minutes, they were in the city, which was now deserted due to everyone's nighttime paranoia. They didn't know where to look first, and decided to simply search in a sweeping fashion, checking every alley, open store and street they could reach. No one had seen such a hedgehog recently, it seemed.

"Wonder what happened here..?" Shadow mused over the strangely indented brick wall of one particular alley. "It's like something stuck to it..."

Something caught his eye, an odd discoloration in the snow, very faint. Reaching down and brushing some of the snow away, he uncovered a pale blue hat, decorated to look like a sleepy eyed Chao face.

"Didn't Meph get a hat like this for Dark..?" Shadow said to himself, pulling it out of the ice. He was sure of it. "So they were here..."

He looked up, deciding to show Rouge what he found in hopes of narrowing down their search to one area. Leaving the alley, he headed down the street to meet up with the bat, who was using her excellent sense of hearing to listen for what Shadow could not, and was farther ahead than him.

"I found Dark's hat, so they were definitely here..." He said, not yet looking up from his find in his hands. "How are you doing on the-?"

He looked up and realized she was frozen in place, staring fixedly at something. Following her gaze, he saw a piece of fabric, torn with clawmarks and discounted with something reddish. The fabric had been the same color as the hat he was holding now. He dropped it.

"No..." He whispered inaudibly. He hurried over to it, and saw that there was a heart shaped decoration on the top, much like the happy Chao hat Mephiles had...

Shadow stood there in mute shock, hands shaking, eyes wide, lightheaded and weak kneed.

_I knew it... I knew it... I should have gone with them... Dark must have went crazy and attacked him... I knew it... He would have never fought back... I should have been there to protect him... I could have stopped it... I knew it..._

Falling to his knees in the snow, he stared at the hat, growling lowly, teeth bared slightly, eyes starting to get livid and angry.

The last time Rouge had seen him so viciously worked up was when Black Doom had convinced him that all of Humanity was to blame for the incident on the ARk, namely the wrongful executions of Maria and Professor Gerald.

She knew who he must have thought who had done this, but because of another piece of fabric, she thought otherwise.

"Shadow..?"

"I'll kill him. I mean it this time. No more second chances."

"Shadow?"

"What!" He snapped more harshly than he intended.

Rouge lifted another fabric item out of the snow, also bloodstained. A blue scarf. Dark's scarf.

Shadow quickly grew horrified. This meant that whatever happened was not Dark's fault, and moreover, he could easily be in the same condition as Mephiles.

The question was, where were they now? And what happened to them? 


	20. 13th iPod Chapter Huh

Dark was panting, not reacting too well to the rather warm environment. His sore body was quivering, fur wet with sweat, his insides burned, and his stomach was full of discomfort and nausea.

He stood up from the floor with difficulty, but was nevertheless determined. He melted into his most purest form, intending on squeezing into every edge and corner to find a weakness and see if he could slip out...

Ignoring Shu's sound of awe at this ability, he pressed against the edge where the clear cell wall met the floor, sliding along the base slowly, finding no way to breach it. He moved to the corner, pressing up along the edge where the walls met, getting more and more sluggish in movement.

Then, without warning, his body changed back, leaving him standing there, eyes half open in confusion as he trembled and sweat profusely, pale face flushed red, breathing much too fast, each inhale sounding like loud gasps. His features lost any sign of life, as his eyes rolled back and he collapsed, laying on his stomach.

Shu shouted in shock, wondering what could be wrong with him.

* * *

"It'll be at least a week before I can get these off completely, Metal..." Dr. Eggman examined his brainchild carefully, running his fingers slowly across Metal's arm, which sported various signs of bite and claw damage, with scratches, dents and punctures, which was shocking to say the least, because the robot's metallic blue exterior was built to withstand so much more without so much as a scratch. "Now, are you sure it was only his teeth and claws that did this?"

The hedge-bot lifted his head and glared the best his ocular display would allow.

"Yes." He replied, annoyance and anger lacing his response quite well. "As I said, after I grabbed him, he went completely berserk and tried to rip my arm off with his teeth. He stayed clamped to it the entire way here. You saw that when I got here. You hit him over the head with the wrench to get him off. Remember?"

Sometimes, Metal had to really wonder about how much of the Doctor was still there in the head, as his plans seemed to get convoluted over time, and his recent creations became more and more ludicrous.

Eggman didn't answer him, so Metal simply stopped trying to explain it to him.

"In any case, you should try to be more cautious next time... Your materials don't come cheap, or easy..."

"... Are you saying it's my fault?" Metal growled. "My fault that the hedgehog you told me to bring here tried to tear me apart?"

"I did warn you about him." Eggman didn't seem fazed by Metal's response. "I told you that he wasn't going to be easy to contain."

A round bicolored sphere with two glowing eyes rolled up beside them, popping open to reveal that it was a small robot, Orbot.

"That's right, Doctor, you did." He droned matter-of-factly. "However, you also neglected to inform him that the claws were crystal able to cut through metal tektite."

"How would that have helped any..?"

"Because that is the substance you used for my exterior!" Metal snapped, obviously ruffled that such a bit of information was easily overlooked. Metal was used to this sort of thing, but it was starting to grate on his synthetic nerves.

"Huh... Oh, right..." The Human nodded to himself, scratching the back of his head. "I keep forgetting that I don't use that substance anymore for the new robots... You're probably the only one still operational that has that..."

"I'll bet that makes you feel so special, 'Old Guy'..." Orbot hopped in place to face Metal, the lit up portion of his expressive display suggesting that he was grinning mockingly at the hedgehog robot.

Metal responded by shoving Orbot back into his sphere shape and kicking the sarcastic bot across the room to get him away from him.

"Metal! H-how dar-Be nice!" Eggman was quick to reprimand him, as if Metal was simply his moody teenage son. "Orbot doesn't stand a chance against you, so that's not a fair match!"

"Then keep him away from me." Metal said cooly. "Besides, I'm your oldest, still operational bot... If anything, I have superiority over him. Which reminds me..." Metal folded his arms and glared at him. "Why is it you insist on creating more and more of these robots to do a job I could have easily done, and insist on making me run errands..?"

"Because the last time I upgraded you to assist me in my quest to build EggmanLand..." Eggman explained, hands up and level with his head, and fingers pinched together. "You went completely power hungry and mad, threw me in a cell, convinced yourself you were the real Sonic, used my identity, stole a frog and a Chao..."

"Oh... Of course..."

"Let's not forget: Metal Overlord?" The Doctor added. "A robot overload to rule a robot kingdom? You turned into a dragon and copied everyone's abilities. You blew up the flagship. You threw the carrier ships at us. And why?" Eggman looked at him seriously while Metal let his arms drop, realizing that he probably did overreact that time. "Why did you do all that? Because you wanted to show us that you were better than Sonic. Now, the effort was impressive, but the goal was not proportionate to the means. You could have raced him. You could have done a number of other things. But you decided to do that, proclaiming yourself Master of All Living Things."

"To be fair, you were the one who gave me the upgrade. You should have known that it was going to possibly react that violently with my programming." Metal deadpanned.

"Well, as a precaution, I'm not going to subject you to any tasks involving Sonic for a while until I'm certain you can handle it without getting a screw loose over something so trivial..." Eggman waggled a finger in front of Metal, as if he were scolding a child. Metal hated when he did that. "You have perhaps some of the best abilities out of any other of the robots, but you tend to let it all go to your head."

"You programmed me to be like that! How is that fair!" Metal snapped back. "If you have a problem, then why don't you just repro-"

Metal stopped himself before he finished, realizing that that a terrible idea. Only the bots that either failed their original purpose, or have grown too unstable get reprogrammed around here. He had seen it done to several bots over his time of being operational, and many of those bots end up as nothing more than husks of their former selves. Like Metal Knuckles. He didn't win a single race against the real Knuckles, and was retooled to be a service bot, assisting the other service bots in keeping everything orderly and clean. Tirelessly shoving a broom around...

"Forget it. I didn't say anything..." Metal added, stepping aside so Metal Knuckles could sweep the area he was standing in.

"Good then..." The Doctor smiled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get started on my latest, greatest creation."

As Eggman turned and left with nearly a hop in his step out of excitement for his project, Metal Sonic stared after him with a slight bit of disappointment.

"I thought _I_ was your greatest creation..."

Of course, hardly anyone heard him. However, a floating orange plush twin tailed fox doll with a glowing red gem hanging from it's head hovered up beside him.

"_I_ think you're cool, Metal..."

"You're not even a robot, what do you know?" Metal looked at Tails Doll. "All he did was stick a control gem in a stuffed animal and call it a minion. You can't even be programmed to do anything, because you're not a bot..."

"Which means I can't be 'reprogrammed' either... So ha!"

Orbot rolled back into view, popping open and hopping his way urgently to Eggman, who was piecing together what appeared to be a portion of a much larger project at a steel table.

"Excuse me for interrupting, Doctor!" Orbot told him. "But it appears as if our contained hedgehog has collapsed!"

"Probably wore himself out from his repeated SpinDashing..." Eggman didn't look up. "He should be fine in an hour..."

"You are mistaken. He is displaying signs of heat illness, and already borderlining heat stroke."

"Don't be ridiculous. In order for that to happen..." The Doctor set his dremmel down, taking his goggles off and replacing his dark lenses glasses back on his face before looking at Orbot. "His core body temperature would have to exceed one hundred and five degrees. There is an adequate cooling system installed throughout most of the fortress to prevent that. Second, he would have to be severely dehydrated, which would be difficult as he was provided-"

"He rejected the sports drink because he was convinced you had laced it with something to sedate him."

"What? Why didn't you report that earlier?" Eggman seemed to find this a rather big problem.

"It was not a cause for alarm at the time." Orbot stated simply.

"And you are certain it's heat illness at the very least?"

"Absolutely."

"Then why are you wasting time!" Eggman barked. He snapped his fingers and pointed to several observing bots. "You! Go retrieve him and and bring him in here! You! Fetch as much ice and water as you find! You! Towels! You! Get the IV drip and electrolytes! You! Get the fan-bots! Move it!" He clapped his hands together once.

They all scattered to their tasks. Metal Sonic was not one of them, despite being up front and in full view. He was slightly offended that the bunny eared Egg Pawn was considered more adept for this task than him.

"What about me?

"How about if you hold up the fan-bot? They are too short, after all, so someone has to."

"Better than nothing, I suppose..."

* * *

Mephiles had burst into tears not long after he had vomited, bawling at the top of his voice, crying himself hoarse and continue to do so until they landed, and even then, he still continued with no visible intention of stopping.

Sonic was quick to leave Tails with him as he and Chip sped off to explore the area and find information of the next Gaia Temple. Tails tried to protest, but all that was left if Sonic was a dust cloud right now. Darn.

"Why are you so upset anyway?" Tails told Mephiles, who was wiping at his eyes and nose between sobs. "It's _my_ plane that got barfed in..."

Mephiles responded with an incoherent babble of garbled words and inflictions, unable to speak clearly at the moment, dissolving into tears again. I cannot hope to transcribe it accurately. Don't bother asking.

Tails looked upwards awkwardly, realizing that he wouldn't be able to decide if his problem was worse than the hedgehog's until he could at least speak clearly.

He twisted his twin tails, pulling himself into the air and hovered himself up and into the pilot seat of the Tornado, and turned to look at the hedgehog. Mephiles had looked up just in time to see him drop intro the seat, and immediately recognized who Tails was.

"... Y-you're the fox f-from a (hic) while ago..." He managed as the first intelligible words Tails could hear from him.

"Now that you know who I am, why don't you explain what happened to you while I check out that wound on your head?" Tails gave him a small smile.

"It's... It's pr-probably (hic) half g-gone already..." Mephiles stuttered.

Tails gave him a strange look, knowing that should be unlikely, and reached over to peel off the gauze he had taped to it from the first aid kit. To confirm the odd hedgehog's words, the swollen lump had gone down more than expected, and was no longer bleeding. In fact, the lacerations were practically nonexistent.

"How in Chaos-?"

"I (hic) heal f-fast..."

"But that sort of speed to it is impossible!"

"... No it's n-not..." Mephiles stuttered again, holding back a hiccup for a moment. "Y-you see it right th-there... (hic hic) It's not imp-possible... I heal f-fast..."

"What struck you, anyway?" Tails asked, still bewildered by all this. "I guessed some sort of wild animal, but they're rare in Westopolis."

"It was sc-scary!" Mephiles reached up at his ears and pulled them down. "It was a robot! B-blue with g-glowing red eyes! And really sharp c-claws! Like mine, b-but metal!"

"I'm just guessing here, but was it shaped like a hedgehog? Like Sonic?"

Mephiles nodded, wondering how he knew that.

"It's probably Metal Sonic..." Tails seemed to find this urgent. "I'll tell Sonic he's probably prowling again... Nothing good ever happens with Metal..."

Mephiles pointed to his head to confirm that.

"D-did... Was I th-the only one you f-found..?"

"Yeah." Tails nodded. "Was there someone else with you?"

Mephiles nodded slowly, tears welling up again.

"... M-my b-brother, D-Dark..." He stuttered. "... He l-looks a lot like m-me... It w-was his first t-time out of the house in a l-long time... He's b-being t-tormented b-by Dark G-Gaia's influence, so he acts st-strange at night sometimes..."

"We only found you though..." Tails apologized. "There was some odd footprints further down the alley, but we thought those were yours."

"We're alm-most identical..." Mephiles explained, biting down on his lip. "He's a b-bit th-thinner though, 'cause he won't eat i-if he's d-depressed, which has b-been often lately..." Then he adds pleadingly: "He w-won't react well to b-being away f-from me... He'll go mad..."

"Oh, how sad!" Tails sympathized. "Well, if Metal had any part in it, then chances are we can track him to Eggman. We're going to have to find him anyway, so we'll more than likely find Dark for you."

"Th-that would be great!" Mephiles almost smiled. "Now, if I c-could only tell Shadow and Rouge where I am... I was s-supposed to be back b-before night... I can see it's the next morning..." Then he adds: "Where are we?"

"Spagonia." 


	21. Yet more iPod chapters

"Spagonia?" Mephiles lifted his ears. "I've never heard of that..."

"It's a country north of Mazuri..." Tails explained. Mephiles still looked confused. "Northeast of Apotos?"

"Where?"

"Just west of Westopolis..." Tails tried again, digging in the satchel. "Here, let me show you on the map..."

He pointed out the different countries mentioned, Mephiles in awe that there was so much world he had yet to hear of.

"Where's Westopolis?" He asked, leaning over the back of the seat. Tails pointed out a tiny spot in comparison to the other, much larger ones.

"Westopolis is a city, so it'll be smaller..."

"How about Soleanna? It's a kingdom, so is it any bigger?"

Tails traced a larger chunk with his finger, a standalone land mass that was east of all this.

"Wow... And I thought it was big..." Mephiles mused. "I've been to a lot of places already, but this map makes it all look like peanuts..."

Tails looked at him weirdly.

"You don't get out much, do you?"

"Not often... It seems like every time I do..." Mephiles smiled nervously. "I almost get killed. And I'm not exaggerating... I've got stories..."

"You sound unlucky..."

"If I was, I'd really be dead..." Mephiles sunk a bit. "I've died twice already, by the way..."

"Huh..." Tails glanced over to the side, wondering if it had been a good idea to bring him along, instead of dropping him off at a hospital for the head wound. But Sonic, speedster he was, was in such a hurry to find the next Temple that he opted to simply bring the kid along and take care of him on the trip, given that Tails was just as smart as any doctor. But if he was as unlucky as he seemed, having him along could be a problem. And if he was being taken care of by Shadow and Rouge, then no doubt they would be looking for him. In fact, Tails and Sonic might even be mislabeled as "Kidnappers" if this was looked at wrong...

Tails looked back at him.

"Could you step out of the Tornado for a moment or two?" He asked. "I still have to get the inside cleaned before it sets..."

"Oh! Right! I'm so sorry about that!" Mephiles' face darkened a shade of red as he scrambled over the side and onto the grass. "I'm very sensitive to motion, so I get carsick, airsick, trainsick, motion sick, and even though we haven't confirmed it... I probably get seasick." He explained awkwardly. "It's not so bad if I fall asleep... Or melt."

"What..?" Tails wasn't sure he heard that last part right. "You do what..?"

"Melt. Actually... It's more like turning into a shadow..." Mephiles didn't seem to realize how weird that was. "I don't feel anything when I'm like that, and I can get in reeeeeaaaallly small places. I just don't do it a lot because it feels weird when it starts, I can't talk during it, and I have to do my whole body every time..." Mephiles continued explaining to the confused fox. "Dark's a lot better at it. You can hear him talk, and he doesn't always need to melt all of himself."

Tails looked down at him.

"You are a hedgehog... Right..?"

"Yeah, more or less. It's a real long story..." Mephiles blushed again. "But I guess Chaos energy is part of the reason why... I was born a hedgehog, so I am at least a hedgehog..." Mephiles didn't want to explain too much.

Tails looked at his own twin furry appendages, and decided that he had no place in judging this strange hedgehog for what might be simply a mutation.

"Well, I'm a fox, and I have more tails than I should." He offered, trying to get Mephiles to not be so nervous. "If that isn't all, I can fly with them too. And really, nearly everyone I know has something different and odd about them."

"So... It's normal to be different..?"

"Or different to be normal... I guess. I dunno..." Tails shrugged at Mephiles' bewilderment. "I mean, I'm an orphaned, flying two tailed fox with an IQ of three hundred who was raised by a hedgehog who breaks the sound barrier for kicks. That's my normal."

* * *

Shadow and Rouge made quick work of reporting the disappearance of the two boys. Yes, even Dark, for all you surprised with Shadow's behavior.

"-He's almost eleven, and he's... Well, you'd know him if you've seen him..." Shadow tried describing Mephiles. "The most notable thing about him people point out is that he's got crystal coated quills, hands and feet, his eyes have no pupils and the part of the eyes that are normally white are pale red for him... Uh... Hold on..." Shadow got up and pulled open a drawer and rummaged through it. "Rouge? Do you know where that picture from Twinkle Park is?"

"I think it's in the other drawer..."

"Never mind, found it..." Shadow pulled out a strip of small photos from a picture booth, most of which had Mephiles being very nervous about the camera, and handed it over. "See? He's not your average Mobian. He's also got an anxiety disorder, and a lot of phobias. And he's susceptible to severe panic attacks under stress..."

"I see... And the other one?"

"Dark? He looks more or less the same..." Shadow was very brief in stating that.

Rouge picked up, seeing that Shadow didn't seem interested in elaborating why.

"His eyes are similar colors but brighter, and he's got cat eye pupils." She explained. "But his quills grow in the same directions as Shadow's. He doesn't trust anyone new, so he might attack you, so watch out. His fur is usually unkempt and he looks underweight, his right ear has a bite taken out of it and..." She paused. "Well, he's prone to psychotic breakdowns when stressed... He's also dangerously protective of Mephiles when he's not angry. And I think Mephiles has mentioned to us that Dark suffers from migraines, has sensitivity to light, and mood swings. He also thinks you guys are out to get him..."

"Why would he think that?" The GUN personnel scratched his head.

"Long story, not enough time..." Rouge shrugged, holding out the plastic bags with the bloodstained hat and scarf in them. "Now, these were theirs. Mephiles had the hat, Dark had the scarf. Can you do some sort of DNA tracking with them? Or a trail?"

"Usually, that sort of method is used for confirmation in a homicide..." The GUN personnel took the bags. "And we could only track them if they were in the area still. But I'm sure we could make use of it... There's no guarantee that the results will be quick, but we'll get started as soon as we can..."

"We don't care, just find out what happened to them and where they are now..."

* * *

"_... What happened..?_"

Dark was still trying to piece together what had just gone on. He could recall trying to escape the cell, but his recollection faded to a complete blank.

He quickly realized what the void around him meant, however.

"Oh, goody! I didn't think I'd see you for a while!" A squeal of sick amusement sounded off behind him, and he jumped away from the source, spinning around to face it and hold his hands in the air in a ready to attack pose in one swift movement.

"_Stay away from me or I'll-!_"

"Dark, Dark, Dark..." Dire cooed almost playfully, but none of the innocence, wagging his whole arm as he held his hand in a simple pointing position upward. "Didn't we already cover this? You can't do anything to me. I'm invincible as long as Dark Gaia is awakened."

As Dire took a step forward with his hands behind his back, Dark kept the same distance by reversing his steps.

"_Don't mess with me! You don't know what I can do!_" Dark growled, folding his ears back and baring his teeth viciously.

"Like what? Send me to another time like you did with Shadow after breaking free from the Scepter?" Dire's calm smile was very unnerving. "Oh, wait... You did that as 'Mephiles the Dark'... You can't do that by yourself. So let me ask you this: What do you think you can do that's going to help you?"

Dark's grimace subsided only for a moment before coming back full force. He was familiar with these kinds of "games".

He didn't answer, knowing his words were going to be twisted against him.

Dire smile broadened only slightly, his half closed eyes glinting.

"Ah, I see... You already recognize how this game works. Is that because you've played it before?" He questioned. "Were you the player or the rule maker? Both at one point? Never was as good at it as Iblis, were you?"

At the name, Dark's eyes flashed dangerously.

"Wasn't that always the case? Never as good as him?" Dire was now smirking, reveling in Dark's fury. "Second rate? Second made? Second in power? You didn't even defeat him... You couldn't. And how did he get you to come out of hiding to face him? By taking your cat. By nearly choking your friend in front of you. Did you do anything to stop him then?" Dark was shaking in rage now. "No. You just sat there, in silent fear, not bothering to so much as push him away. Mephiles, the one who you used to torment, stood up for you, and did a much better effort than you in trying to stop him."

Dark couldn't take any more of it, and charged at him, only to get caught by the quills and forced into an awkward kneeling position as he reached his hands up to try and pry himself free. He shouted in pain, as this was the same as getting your hair pulled.

"Also, he told you not to go in that alley. He begged you, pleaded and cried. And you still pulled him in. He knew something was going to happen, and you ignored that. It's your fault he got hurt. Sensing a pattern? He gets hurt around you a lot. You're a danger to him..."

He let go of the quills, and Dark dropped to the ground on his side. Looking up as he pushed himself off the ground, he had an expression of hurt shock on his face.

"_... I-It... It was... I... It was that robot's fault!_" He stammered, shaking his head. "_... I told him to hide!_"

"He got in between you and it so he could stop it. Besides..." Dire shook his head boredly. "You told him that he could hardly do much to protect anything... Probably made him determined to prove you wrong. The fact is... If he's dying right now... It's all your fault."

Dire held his cold smile as Dark stared blankly, shocked speechless. He looked as if he had shut down completely, but beneath that he felt as if the physical representation of his heart (let's just say it was a delicate glass ornament, so thin and clear like a bubble.) had been carelessly dropped to the ground and stepped on, crushing the fragile shards into fine dust.

In other words... He was crushed by sick despair at that realization. He could have listened to the hedgehog, and continued on with trying to outsmart the robot, instead of hiding behind some rotting crates. He should have known by now that Mephiles' instincts and sixth sense were much more highly tuned than his own. Mephiles was, to an extent, psychic even. He even said there was a similar situation before, so he knew how it could have ended...

And like always, Dark insisted that his own way was right, and... Well, look where he was now.

His eyes stung a bit, and he blinked, bringing his head down to hide his face.

"Hey, don't be so bummed out!" Dire said in mock comfort as Dark grew tense. "You were only doing what you do best, after all. Hide, and self preserve. It's what shadows are good at. Hedgehogs are another matter completely..."

"_... Why are you doing this..?_" Dark didn't look up and spoke in a surprisingly even voice. "_... Surely you can't find any enjoyment out of breaking something that's already been broken..?_"

"Path of least resistance, I suppose." Dire was quick to reply, hardly pausing to think. He lowered himself to be level with Dark, still smirking. "You're like a Rubix Cube, really. A good challenging puzzle to work with, but much simpler to pick apart..."

"_That's cheating..._"

"Don't care." Dire tossed back. "My job is to harvest darkness and pain for Dark Gaia. Can you really blame me for doing it if that's why I exist? What about you? What's your purpose? Why are you here?"

Dark had no direct answer for that. He couldn't think of a good enough answer that would shut Dire up for a while. He was now wondering why he couldn't wake up to reality.

Almost as if he could read his thoughts, Dire added: "Oh, and because of your foolishness, you're suffering from heat stroke right now. You won't wake up for a while."

"_… H-heat stroke? H-how-!_l" Dark stammered before he was cut off.

"The combination of the heated area, the excessive exertion of energy and possibly your refusal to accept the provided sports drinks that would have countered all that very well. Not a smart move." Dire shrugged lightly. "The fact is, you almost killed yourself. You, not me..."


	22. Y'know most of this fic is from an iPod

Once Tails finished with getting the interior clean, he looked over the edge of the plane and saw Mephiles sitting on the ground next to it, completely occupied with a butterfly the kept landing on his nose.

"Hey, that tickles!" He laughed, reaching up and brushing it away, before it landed again, this time on his arm. "Man, I wonder how Dark would react to you!"

Tails blinked, wondering how he was so carefree.

Twisting his tails, he pulled up out of the Tornado and down next to the hedgehog.

"Okay, it's fixed in there..." He said. "It'll probably be a while 'til Sonic gets back... Want to look around town?"

Mephiles looked up.

"Are there people in town..?"

"Well, yeah, of course..."

"People make me nervous..." Mephiles looked down, butterfly landing on his ear. "They always stare at my crystals before they even say 'Hi'."

"Same about my tails..." The fox shrugged. "But usually, they forget about that after we start talking..."

"... Well, I also don't like cities and towns..." Mephiles twitched his ear with the butterfly, prompting it to land right on his crystal center stripe on his head. "... Because Soleanna was very cruel to me... Like when I almost fell in the water, and no one helped me, and they all threw trash at me... I can't swim, so it was very scary holding on that ledge..."

"That's strange... They were nice when Sonic and I was there..." Tails looked surprised.

"... I kinda look like something their culture hates..." Mephiles half lied. "And they blame me for the accident about a decade ago..."

"How old are you anyway?"

"... I think I was born when it happened..." Mephiles bent the truth a bit, knowing he was really at most a few months older than that. "So almost eleven..."

"I guess you looking like you do, and the accident happening about that time, might have caused them to be paranoid..." Tails sympathized.

"The princess was really nice to me when I bumped into her trying to get away from them..." Mephiles laughed nervously. "Actually, the first thing she commented was that I have blue fur and green eyes like Sonic. That was nice to hear, instead that I'm covered in crystals, or that I look weird..."

"You bumped into Elise?"

"It was kind of an accident, cuz I didn't watch where I was going..." Mephiles' pale face blushed.

* * *

Cooling air was rushing over him. This was a sensation that was so very much welcomed, as it felt so very good to him at the moment. He was no longer burning up, inside and out, in fact.

He eased his eyes open slowly, still feeling weak however, and was greeted with blurry shapes and blobs of dark color, his vision having yet to focus for him.

Certain parts of him felt as if ice had been placed there, such as near his neck and under his arms to name two of them, and a faint pinprick of of discomfort in his arm could be felt as well.

Flexing his hands to get the blood flowing there again, he tried to push himself up, but found that he couldn't move because something was holding him down.

The crushing feeling of fear buried him and he fought back, crying out in anger, not sure of what was going on, but knew he wasn't anywhere safe.

"Oh, would you just shut up!" Something snapped at him.

Dark held his breath and blinked repeatedly until he could see more clearly. That blue hedgehog shaped robot was holding up some sort of fan styled miniature robot, which was sending the cool air his way.

Dark growled, glaring and baring his teeth viciously and fought against his restraints even more.

"_... Tell me what to do..?_" He snarled, red Aura erupting into view. "_... You attacked Mephy! I don't trust you!_"

"I honestly don't care." Metal tossed the fan-bot aside carelessly, which flopped about for a little bit before hopping up and twirling away. "I did my job. It was superficial anyway. I'm only here right now because the Doctor didn't capture you for you to kill yourself."

"_So why am I here?_" Dark said in a dangerously low voice.

"Apparently my organic counterpart is expelling all the little creatures that are possessing everyone..." Metal stepped out of view for a moment and reappeared on the other side, Dark whipping his head to the source of the voice. "And because that means the creatures disappear after that's done, my creator is going to harvest as much as he can and extract them instead of expel them..."

"_... And..?_" Dark wasn't quite convinced.

"Then that means the creatures can be reabsorbed by Dark Gaia." Metal Sonic explained almost boredly. "It's really that simple. In the meantime, you'll just be kept in the cell, and tended to basic needs."

"_Forgive me if the concept of being caged like an animal does nothing to comfort me..._" Dark growled. "_Being that I have already spent a decade in complete isolation, with nothing by my own crazed thoughts as company... And a hedgehog..._"

"I've already gathered that you're a bit on the crazy side..." Metal held up his dented arm and indicated to the bite marks. "First Mobian to actually damage me with their teeth, really..."

"_Oh, I'm not Mobian..._" Dark suddenly smirked, causing Metal to be thrown for a loop at that response.

"No? You sure look like one... Save for the claws and crystals..."

"_Don't know what I would be called, but 'Shadow Creature' would be a fitting term..._" Dark was smug about this. He still enjoyed lecturing about himself, as he felt it gave him a mental advantage. "_Too bad there's some good lighting in here, or I'd show you what I mean... It's my element, after all, so it would be... Impressive..._"

"Fascinating... Good thing I'm not programmed to be startled, or that last part might have been unnerving..." Metal's ocular display flashed two simple upside down Us as if he was smiling mockingly at Dark with his eyes closed. They flashed back to ovals. "Let me just say this: I'm fine tuned and programmed with the latest up to date technology. My processor will react in less than nanoseconds if you so much as try anything. Self-preservation before logic... So if you give me reason to, I will strike back before I have time to 'think' about it... Get it? Can't be blamed for what I'm programmed for, after all..."

"_Oh, clear as night..._" Dark gave a smile that did not match his eyes. "_I suppose all will be fine if you do that? Harming the captee? Obviously there is some sort of value with me right now as is, being that I wasn't left to suffer from heat stroke, so go ahead... Do something... I'd like to see what happens..._" Dark knew he was pushing it, but honestly... It had been a long time since he had this kind of rush.

Metal's display brightened as he leaned in, getting really close to Dark's face, the shadow grinning with half closed eyes.

"Laugh it up... Once your creature is extracted... It's free game..."

"_The last thing I fought was a fire demon... Forgive me, but I'm having trouble taking you seriously..._"

"You must be crazy..." Metal withdrew and shook his head. "No one is even that bold to speak like that to me, let alone openly mock me..."

"_Clinically proven... There's a file somewhere on my mental evaluation..._" Dark beamed, enjoying that he was winning this "game". "_I'm quite functional when calm, and could pass for normal as long as I'm not triggered... But I'm told that I can be a bit... Terrifying otherwise. And after what you did to Mephy..? I think I've got good reason to tear you apart and see what makes that lovely light up thing on your face... Light up..._"

"Big talk coming from someone strapped to a bed..." Metal didn't flinch. "Someone who didn't recognize his own body starting to shut down from heat..."

"_Hey, I'm just a kid..._" Dark faked a pouting face briefly, before grinning slightly. "_I might use more than half my brain, but I'm only hardly eleven..._"

"Whatever..." Metal brushed it off. He reached over near Dark's neck, the shadow flinching out of being unable to do anything else but that, and pulled at something, bringing to Dark's attention that something was around it. "This is keeping you from keeling over right now... It's got a coolant system in it so you don't overheat like that again..."

"_... What is it..?_" Dark brought his eyes down as far as he could, but could obviously not hope to see it.

"One of the Doctor's shock collars, modified just for you." Metal's voice had a hint of a smirk in it. "If you try to remove it, which is advised against, as you would start to overheat again... It will send off a slight jolt to discourage you. Nothing too painful, or damaging..."

"_And why would I overheat again..?_" Dark's voice was dangerously calm.

"Because we're near the center of the planet... That's why it's warm here to begin with... I don't know, I can't sense it..."

"_A shock collar... Like that hasn't been around my neck before..._" Dark said sarcastically.

"Then you should know how this works..."

* * *

At some point not too much later, Doctor Eggman was able to break from his project to check on Dark's status.

"Oh, good! You've finally come around!"

Dark glared, pulling at his restraints.

"_For a while, really... Now let me go._" Dark snapped.

"Because you're here as a bit of an inconvenience, rather than a prisoner, you have the option of being escorted back to your cell, or..." The Doctor explained. "If you don't want to play nice, then we can just have you restrained and brought back there by force."

"_Oh, how wonderful..._" Dark feigned joy. "_How shall I choose? Forgive me for not clapping excitedly, as my hands are tied up at the moment..._"

"We couldn't have you loose in the base, considering that last time..."

"_I'll be honest... I remember nothing about that..._" Dark said truthfully, pale face flushing a bit. "_I tend to have memory lapses of when I'm having an episode of insanity. I hardly even recall you... But I distinctly remember a shock collar..._"

"Just that? Huh..." Eggman blinked behind his glasses. "Well then, I should inform you that you're not a prisoner. I intend to extract that creature that is possessing you nightly, and channel it back to-"

"_Your robot already explained, thank you..._" Dark cut him off, leaving the Human to stutter to a stop. "_Just how long is that going to take..? My brother was left bleeding in an alley, and I would like it very much if I could get back to finding him..._"

"Well, honestly, I haven't built the extraction machine yet..."

Dark's eyes went wide, before he closed them and shook his head with a groan.

"_I swear... This is like a plot to a fan written fictional story..._" He muttered, before looking up, narrowing his eyes. "_So, let me get this straight... You had me and my brother attacked so you could extract a little monster from me, despite not having the means to do so?_"

"Yes."

Dark's eyes lit up red and a paneling for a computer console behind Eggman exploded, causing the man to flinch.

"_Dang... My aim is terrible..._"

* * *

"I should have gone with them..." Shadow said for the countless time. "The one time I let my guard down, and this happens..."

"Don't blame yourself..." Rouge offered, just as worried as he was. "Whatever happened, you might have been hurt too..."

"I'm the Ultimate Life Form! I could have handled it!" Shadow slammed his head into the table.

Rouge sat down on the opposite end of the table.

"At least we found out as soon as we did..." She said, Shadow lifting his head up. "We've got people on the alert for either one of them..."

"All I can think of right now is what he said when he got attacked by Iblis at the Station Square hospital..." Shadow groaned, closing his eyes. "'You weren't there... You weren't there... Where were you?'..."

He slammed his head down again, his face flat on the table, with his quills spreading out like a red and black starfish.

The phone suddenly rang, and he sprang up, actually flipping the table over in the process, sending the cup of tea that was his against the wall, while Rouge still sat there in mute surprise, still holding hers just inches from where the table used to be. She blinked.

"Huh..."

Shadow snatched up the phone off the hook, and hit the answer button.

"Yes?" He said, crossing his fingers.

"... Sh-shadow..?" The unmistakable stutter of his little brother-figure on the other end of the phone was enough to make Shadow squeak with relief in Hedgehog.

"Oh, my God! Are you alright? Where are you? What happened!" He shouted back, not out of anger but of concern. "Rouge and I are worried sick about you! We've got GUN searching the far corners of the planet, and I'm not just saying that!"

"Is that Mephiles?" Rouge shouted from the kitchen before flying in, shoving Shadow out of the way and grabbing the phone before it hit the ground. "Honey, is that you? What happened! We found your hat covered in blood and thought something bad happened to you! I'm putting you on speakerphone so Shadow can hear!" She hit the button for that.

"... S-something did..." Mephiles explained in a small voice, sounding as if he was trying very hard to not burst into tears. "... Dark and I g-got attacked b-by a blue hedgehog r-robot... And it t-took D-Dark..."

Then Mephiles started bawling, no doubt earning strange looks from anyone within earshot.

"Where are you?" Shadow said over his cries. "We'll come pick you up and take you home!"

Mephiles sniffled, and you could hear him blow his nose.

"... S-someplace called Spagonia..." He said thickly. "Sonic f-found me and brought me along, since he c-couldn't just leave me in th-that alley..."

"Meph, that's two countries away..." Shadow blinked in shock. "How the he-?"

"T-Tails' plane..." Mephiles answered before he asked. "... I th-threw up in it, b-by the way..."

"Motion Sickness?" Rouge asked.

"Uh, huh..."

"Maybe if you can explain to them, they can either drop you off, or let us pick you up..." Shadow started before Mephiles cut him off before anything else was said.

"No! D-Dark's missing!" Mephiles snapped back, sounding irritated. "That d-dumb egg guy has him, and the last t-time i was with D-Dark, I was half c-conscious, so he p-pro'lly th-thinks I'm dead now!" His voice started to quiver more. "I d-don't want to f-find out what D-Dark does if he th-thinks he's got n-nothing to lose... I have to f-find him again! He n-needs me!"

"Meph, _you_ need to be back home where it's safe." Shadow said back. "We have GUN on the lookout for you and Dark... They'll still be looking for him even if you're home..."

"B-but I know where to find him!" Mephiles protested. "And it's j-just on the way where Sonic's going! You'd do the s-same for me!"

"Yes, I know..." Shadow started, before explaining otherwise. "But this is different-"

"How! How is it different!" Mephiles sounded very annoyed now. "It's b-because it's D-Dark, isn't it!"

Shadow didn't answer, knowing that Mephiles wasn't going to be pleased.

"I knew it! You d-don't care if Dark's in trouble!" Mephiles sounded very upset. "You still hate him!"

"Meph, calm down..."

"No! I told him that I wasn't g-going to let him get hurt again!" Mephiles snapped back. "D-Do you know how important that is t-to him? Iblis never did _any_thing like that for him! He needs me!"

"Mephiles, I said that we have GUN looking for him..."

"That's not any better!" Mephiles squawked, completely off tune with his normal voice because he was so upset. "You know he's paranoid about them! He thinks they want to lock him away like an artifact! He's not going to listen to them if they did find him! He'll probably attack them without a thought, because he'll be terrified!"

Shadow cringed, realizing that had not been taken into consideration.

Rouge spoke up.

"Mephiles, kid..." She started. "How are you doing right now? You're not hurt, like an injury hurt, are you?"

At her voice, he calmed down considerably.

"... It's almost done healing..." He said in a small voice, drastically different than his tone with Shadow. "... That robot struck me in the head for getting between it and Dark..."

"So it was the robot that-?"

"Yeah... Dark was trying to protect me..."

Rouge threw a look at Shadow, who grinned sheepishly.

"We think Dark might have been hurt too..." Rouge added. "We found his scarf covered in blood as well... Do you know if he got attacked like you?"

There was an awkward pause before Mephiles burst into tears.

"Oh, no! And I c-couldn't do anything to s-stop it!" He howled miserably.

"Wait. I said he _might_ have been hurt..." Rouge tried to talk to him to calm him down. "We can't even confirm if it's his blood... He could have used the scarf as a let up for your head, or something... Do you remember anything about it that could help?"

"N-no! I got hit real hard, and hit the wall!" He cried, inhaling deeply to try and catch his breath. "I remember him sc-screaming in fright... But th-that's all! Everything g-goes black after that!"

"Calm down... I know it's tough, but you'll have a panic attack if you keep this up..." Rouge told him. "You're sure you know where he is?"

"Uh, huh..." Mephiles said weakly.

"And you're with Sonic?"

"... Uh, huh... And T-Tails... And some fairy d-dog..."

"But you're not alone..?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Then just stay with them until you get Dark, and just check up with us when you can... That's all I can say, honey..."

"I want you and Shadow to be here!" Mephiles shouted. "I'm sorry for not getting back before it got dark! I know I promised, but-!"

"It's not your fault..." Rouge interrupted. "And trust me, you're not in trouble for it..." She added that part with a bit of a laugh, Mephiles laughing weakly in response.

"... Sorry f-for yelling at you like that, Shadow..." He added in a small voice, sounding ashamed. "... I'm just really upset right now..."

"I don't blame you..." Shadow responded.

"... I'm in a strange place, away from you guys, Dark's gone, I'm scared, I got sick earlier, and I'm surrounded by people I don't know..." Mephiles groaned in misery. "... And chances are, I'll get sick again, because they travel by plane..."

"Just keep hanging in there..."

"... Can you guys also hug my Chao for me..? Especially Krystal? She's probably really upset that I'm not there..." Mephiles sounded embarrassed. "... And don't forget to pay attention to Tape... He probably already notices that something is up, smart cat..."

"Sure..." Rouge said.

"Thank you..." Mephiles' voice suddenly faded off, and something dropped, changing the sound perspective for a moment.

Some kind of scrambling could be heard, and another voice sounded off on the other end.

"Hello? Rouge? Shadow?" The familiar voice said. "It's me, Tails. I... I think he just fell asleep..." Tails explained in bewilderment.

Both Shadow and Rouge snorted.

"We think there's a high possibility that he's narcoleptic." Shadow explained. "He falls asleep after something stressful or boring happens to him, almost conveniently."

"That would explain the snoring and the not waking up when I smack him..."

"He'll probably be like that for an hour... Three at the most." Rouge said, shaking her head with a small smile. "Just get him someplace comfortable, and he'll be fine."

"'Kay... Sorry about dragging him along... It was Sonic's idea..."

"We heard..."

* * *

Dark was now curled up on the single bed of the cell, wrapped up in his own little ball of misery. Depressed over his situation... Mostly because he didn't know if Mephiles was alright.

He found it strange that the only reason he wanted out now was to check on Mephiles. Not because he wanted to escape for himself... But that he had to make sure that the hedgehog was alright. He felt responsible for Mephiles getting hurt, and felt as if it was all his fault for not listening to what Mephiles said they should have done.

He reached towards his neck and tugged idly at the collar, getting a short spark that felt like a static charge that jumped from that hand to the other that wasn't close to it.

He groaned dejectedly, knowing that electricity was a sure fire way to keep him under control for the Human, as he had a great dislike for the sensation, and the prospect of being zapped for disobedience was enough to deter him from escaping again.

At least the overheating problem was solved for now...

"Wow... So what happened to you, Dark?" Shu asked, sitting at the far end of the bed.

Dark didn't respond.

"You kinda just collapsed, so whatever it was, must have been bad..?"

Still nothing, though Dark shifted a bit, curling in more, his back to Shu.

"If you just want me to leave you alone... Okay then..." Shu finally gave up. "I'm sure Mephy will be fine, though..."

Dark actually jumped. His fur stood on end in a ripple down his back, his thinned quills puffing out. He pushed himself up and lifted his head to stare at Shu with a strange glare.

Then he jumped up and slammed Shu into the wall of the cell, much to the surprise of the green and black hedgehog.

"_... I never told you his name..._" Dark growled, baring his teeth at the startled cellmate as he placed both hands on either side, blocking him underneath himself. "_How did you know that? Huh! How!_"

"Yes, you did..." Shu said nervously. "You mentioned it when you met me..."

"_Liar!_" Dark barked. "_How did you know his name!_"

"You told me! Don't you remember!" Shu shouted back, holding his hands up to his face, trying to shield himself from the shadow's fury.

Dark thought back, and could not recall such an event. He was certain he would have remembered it. Either Shu was lying, or Dark's memory was being clouded.

He slowly backed off, still skeptical. He was sure he hadn't spoken of Mephiles' name, much less his nickname. But given his recent physical ailment, a lapse in memory was possible... However unlikely it may be...

"_Apologies... I overreact sometimes..._" Dark half lied. "_I'm under a great deal of stress... My bad..._"

"Geeze, are you always this paranoid?" Shu pulled away as soon as he could.

"_Yes._" Dark said without a moment's pause. "_Better to be paranoid and have to apologize later, then to let my guard down and get hurt..._"

"Well, you're just a little ray of sunshine, aren't you?" Shu added sarcastically, earning another glare from Dark.

Dark stepped forward towards him, backing him into a corner as he leaned in close enough to be just a quill thickness away.

"_If I were you, I wouldn't be laughing at the strange looking hedgehog I'm locked in a cell with..._" He said in a very calm voice that did not match his expression. "_Because, honestly... Not only is he being tortured mentally at night, but he doesn't know the condition of the one person he has any care for as well. It's making him very agitated, and he's never had a very good control on his tolerance..._" He raised his hand and pointed to his head with a crystal clawed finger. "_Also, he hasn't sleep right in weeks. See the darkness under his eyes? He's very irritable right now, and is not appreciating the sarcasm..._" He blinked and then realized something. "_Hey, wait. You look perfectly fine... Why are you here!_"

"... Same reason as you?"

"_That doesn't answer anything..._"

"I don't know. I'm probably here for the same reason you are."

Dark looked at him skeptically. He couldn't quite place it, but something felt... weird about Shu.

Something that made his skin crawl...


	23. The amount of iPod chapters is amazing

The smallest Dark's eyes snapped open. He had been laying still so that the horrible creature in his older looking image would leave him alone. He had quite convincingly dropped to the ground like the rest of the Darks (some of them not faking), staying very still and trying hard not to flinch when the creature had nudged him with his foot.

He picked himself up off the black ground, snatching up his tattered rabbit toy, and moved from Dark to Dark, checking each one of them.

He heard a sniffle, and quickly found Despair (Parry), who was curled in on himself, eyes squeezed shut, shaking and arms wrapped tightly about himself as if he wanted to disappear.

Paranoia was already sitting up before Euphie noticed, and he was staring blankly, pulling out his quills one by one as Reason (Reese) tried to persuade him passively to not do that, only going as far as to simply grabbing his wrists and trying to keep them from reaching to the tinned mass of quills. Reese was always a silent one, and often, his requests and idea went unnoticed.

Euphie bit down on his lower lip, trying to see who was still here and functional.

He stopped at one of the still motionless Darks, who was sprawled on his side, one hand resting on his chest, pale face almost white on the muzzle, and eyes wide and unfocused, with his pupils dilated to where the green was nearly gone. His mouth hung half open, his breathing slow and even, as if he was stunned. He wasn't responding to any form of stimulus, such as prodding, shaking, and face smacking.

Though almost indistinguishable from most of the other Darks to one who did not know them, Euphie was able to identify him as Sympathy.

The little Dark cringed, clutching his stuffed bunny even tighter. Sympathy had been trying to protect him, his nature only allowing him to shield the small counterpart, unable to fight because he was never meant to. Before the two had been separated, Sympathy was able to voice one thing in a whisper to Euphie:

"_... Play dead..._"

It was a codeword that was really just that. Simply drop to the ground motionless. It was a time tested method adopted by many creatures across the world and centuries, and often worked if they were lucky...

Once Euphie did, many of the rest of the Darks followed suit, if they hadn't already been struck down beforehand.

Sympathy was not so lucky, and it appeared that the shock of what happened to him was causing great strain and distress.

Over time, very few of the Darks had ever been completely disconnected. It was not a pleasant thing to witness, as they simply became an unfeeling shell until (if they were lucky) Dark managed to connect to them again, a process he did not know about.

All growth and development stopped with them. All emotion of any kind stopped. They just... Stopped. They simply existed, unable to fulfill their purpose or role, and unable to express until Dark could feel that emotion again.

Most of the Darks had experienced a similar feeling before, in which they simply felt as if they had been suspended in a sort of void internally, as they had never truly been disconnected, but rather pushed aside until convenient.

Rage and Logic were the rare exclusions, as Dark always used and needed them, and both had witnessed the unnerving events of their counterparts.

Euphie was a rare case among them. He was the first one made, but also the first one shoved aside. Over the years, Dark would feel even the slightest form of euphoria from his actions, which was what kept Euphie from being disconnected completely, though it took a long time for him to reach the developmental stage capable of walking on his own feet and forming simple sentences vocally, despite Euphie being able to think mentally the same as the rest. He was often frustrated by his inability to speak as he thought.

"_... Impy..?_" Euphie squeaked out his name for the counterpart, vocally unable to pronounce it fully. "_... Up..?_" It more or less translated to him requesting that he show signs of life and pick himself up off the ground.

Sympathy didn't move, except blink.

"_Odgy!_" Euphie shrieked, turning around frantically to search for the glasses wearing Dark, as that word roughly translated to "Logic". Crying out for him, he finally found him amount the rest, sitting on the ground with his head held low in shame, knowing he had failed everyone. Euphie ran up to him, grabbing his arm and pulling at it frantically. "_Odgy! Impy down! Impy down! Get Impy up!_" This more or less translated to: "_Logic! Sympathy's hurt! He's hurt! Do something!_"

Logic looked up, showing that he had put his twisted frames back on the bridge of his nose in a futile attempt to save face, with one lens cracked, and the other gone except for one shard stuck in the metal. He could not see clearly still, but could tell it was Euphie.

Logic blinked, and got to his feet to follow Euphie, squinting to see what the problem was. His face fell once he realized it.

"_... Oh... No..._" He groaned dejectedly, dropping down to his knees to better examine Sympathy. "_... Not you... This... This is bad..._"

He carefully lifted Sympathy's head, taking note of how limp he was.

"_What's wrong with him?_" Rage growled in his form of concern.

"_... Disconnected..._" Logic looked up helplessly.

"_Wait... Doesn't that mean..?_" Rage's ears swiveled back in surprise.

"_He's not him anymore..._" Logic explained in a small voice, looking back at Sympathy, who simply stared straight ahead.

He knew within the hour, Sympathy would be up and about, but just wandering aimlessly, unresponsive to much, unable to respond in the way you would if you had emotions. He would not be sad, or angry, or happy, or scared. He would just be. Until Dark connected to him again... If he did.

"_What? No!_" Rage snapped, grabbing Sympathy by the shoulders and shaking him roughly. "_C'mon! Say something, you touchy feely-_"

"_Rage! Stop!_" Logic's eyes lit up with energy and stopped Rage from continuing mentally. "_He can't respond! He's blank!_"

"_No! Not again! You said that it would never happen again!_" Rage barked at him, baring his teeth and letting his fur and quills stand. "_I am not going to just stand here and watch another one of us turn into a shell! Not again! Either you help me, or back off!_"

Logic pulled back, cringing. He knew Rage's efforts would be futile, as none of them would be able to have an effect on their connections. He knew better than to try and explain that to him, too. Rage would not listen.

* * *

Mephiles jolted awake with a gasp, sitting up and clutching at his quills, eyes wide with fright. It took him a moment to realize where he was, and that he had been asleep.

Trembling, he took deep breaths, trying to calm down. He was coated in a thin layer of sweat, his eyes burning with tears, and a dull ache in his chest.

He figured he must have had a night terror, as he could not remember why he was so startled, and only a ghost of the memory of it existed: he knew it must have been horrible, but what it was of escaped his recollection.

He inhaled deeply, squeezed his eyes shut and slumped against the inside of the small plane, where he had his back against (he was laying down on the seat, it seems).

He missed Shadow and Rouge even more right now. The bat would have been pulling him into a secure hug by this point while the hedgehog would have been fetching various comforting items and assisting her in calming down Mephiles until he could compose himself.

At least he wasn't screaming like a lunatic. That would have been a bad impression on his new fox friend.

He opened his eyes slowly, and saw that it was now nighttime.

He groaned, pulling at his ears. He knew if he was having a bad time, Dark must be having it worse...

He sighed and let go of his ears, then leaned over the side of the parked plane, letting his head hang over while he stared at the ground.

His ears twitched and he looked up. He had heard something. He sat up and looked over the into the front seat.

"... Tails..?" He whispered to the fox, who was reading a book with a book light. Tails looked up. "... Did you hear that..?"

"Huh..?" Tails closed his book, and looked in the general direction of Mephiles' gesturing. "... Oh... That's probably Sonic and Chip..."

"... That doesn't sound like Sonic to me..." Mephiles opened his eyes wider.

"Yeah... About that... I forgot to mention..." Tails exhaled, pinching between his eyebrows. "... Sonic's kinda affected at night like a lot of other people..."

"What!" Mephiles squeaked.

"Calm down... It's not nearly as bad... He still acts the same..." Tails waved a hand as he assured him. "... He just doesn't look the same..."

"What do you mean...?"

"Uh... Let's put it this way..." Tails tried his best to explain without startling him any more than needed. "Ever seen a werewolf movie..?"

"No..."

"Oh. Well, I was gonna say it was like that, just without the savage beast and the curse part..." Tails huffed out his mouth. "But you have no idea what I'm talking about... So..."

"Hey, Tails, does he know yet?" Chip flew out of a nearby bush excitedly, gnawing on a bar of chocolate. "Cuz Sonic's been waiting until he can be sure he doesn't freak him out!"

"Okay, I'm very confused..." Mephiles scratched his head. "What do you two mean about Sonic..?"

Tails inhaled and puffed air out the side of his mouth with a bored expression.

"Okay... Promise you're not going to start screaming, or flipping out, or waving your arms around like a nut?"

"... Yes..?" Mephiles said slowly, not sure where they we're getting at. "Just tell me already."

"Alright..." Tails said as Chip called out to Sonic to come out.

Mephiles stared at the hulking hedge-beast that emerged. He was incredibly silent, staring with wide eyes as everyone awaited his reaction.

He took a deep breath, shrieked, waved his arms in the air, jumped out of the plane and began running around the aircraft in circles, shouting: "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!" dragging out a couple of them with half a sob.

Tails watched with indifference as Chip pulled his candy bar out of his mouth to move his head from side to side as he watched Mephiles, and Sonic cringed.

"Well, that went better than expected..." Tails shrugged, taking to the air and landing next to Sonic. "Found out the next temple yet, bro?"

* * *

Sympathy blinked, shifting his now dull eyes to Rage, who waited almost anxiously for what was going to one the moment of truth.

"_... Oh hi... Did we win..?_" Sympathy said listlessly, not even sounding remotely interested.

Rage inhaled sharply as Sympathy just stared, everything about seeming horribly wrong. Logic was right... This was not Sympathy anymore.

"_... It's like the Scepter all over again..._" Rage was uncharacteristically unnerved as he said this in a low voice before shouting angrily, cursing loudly. "_-Dark! Feel something! Help him!_"

"_... He can't hear us right now..._" Logic shook his head. "_And really, he thinks I'm the only personification... He'll just feel angry without reason of you try to reach him..._"

"_Then _you_ try to reach him!_" Rage snapped at him.

Logic flinched, twitching his ears as he heard everyone else who was still functional enough (as in not having a breakdown like Paranoia or Parry were) murmur in their own ways of shock and fear.

Reese spoke up in a quiet voice.

"_... You can do that... Can't you, Logic..?_" He said in a voice that was just above a whisper, every other Dark hushing up so they could hear him. "_... You can use your laptop and let Dark know..?_"

"_His laptop's busted, remember?_" Tactless interjected, earning a glare from most everyone. "_What? It's true!_"

Logic could see in his blurry vision that every set of eyes was now on him. He now wanted to disappear, away from all of them. Away from his brethren he had failed...

"_... Logic..? Is this true..?_" Reese said meekly, staring at him timidly.

Logic looked up, folding his ears back. Then he got to his feet and shoved passed everyone, holding his head as he wanted to get away. He was humiliated. He was ashamed. He was upset. He needed to be somewhere he could compose himself, away from everyone's eyes and questions.

He needed to be left alone.


	24. iPod That is all

No one could determine how long Mephiles had been running in circles around the Tornado, shouting in fright and waving his arms around. In fact, it was amazing that an often tired looking hedgehog could have that much energy to begin with. There wasn't even a waver in the tone his voice, save for it possibly getting hoarse from so much yelling.

"... See? This is why I didn't want people to see me like this." Sonic looked away awkwardly. "His reaction is probably the worst..."

"Don't look too much into it." Tails said. "From what Shadow and Rouge told me, he's very easy to scare, since he's afraid of everything short of bunnies... Not literally, but just about."

"When did you talk with Shadow and Rouge..?"

"He called them on a payphone to let them know he was okay." Tails explained. "I've never heard Shadow and Rouge sound so... Parent-like."

Sonic snorted, shaking his shaggy blue head with amusement.

"They both work together, and live at the same house. If they've been looking after him since all of us left Soleanna..." Sonic put two and two together. "They're probably either that, or similar to what I am to you..."

"Shadow being a big brother... Can you imagine..?"

"Hey, Sonic..?" Chip interrupted, popping into view. "Is he gonna stop anytime soon?" The pixie dog waved a hand towards the still freaking out hedgehog, who now seemed to be wearing a track into the grass around the Tornado. "He's not fast like you, but he can sure keep on running..."

"Yeah... I think that's enough..." Tails nodded in agreement.

Sonic nodded too, and held his hand up, watching Mephiles' pattern of movement before reaching a stretchy arm out to grab the crystal hedgehog by a shoulder quill clump and pulled him to the bushes, where everyone else was.

"Now you're made of rubber!" Mephiles squeaked in a strangely strained voice.

"Congratulations... I think you've managed to be the first person the completely flip a lid seeing me like this..." Sonic growled softly in a somewhat offended tone.

"... Oh, I'm s-sorry..." Mephiles quickly apologized. "B-but it's not how you look... It's how much you ch-changed in looks!"

"... Isn't that still the same?"

"Not r-really." Mephiles shook his head timidly. "B-but see... With D-Dark being affected at n-night, I d-don't know if th-that's going to happen to him..."

"It shouldn't." Sonic quickly confirmed. "Not unless he as close to the energy blast zone as me. And I was right in the middle of it..."

"S-so he's _not_ g-going to... How c-can I say this without s-sounding offensive..?" Mephiles pondered, scratching behind his ear. "... He's n-not g-going to look any d-different that he does n-now..?"

"As far we all know... No." Sonic let go of the quill clump.

"Oh, g-good. Bec-cause I think D-Dark wouldn't have liked th-that... He already th-thinks he looks like a m-monster, th-though I tell him he d-doesn't..." Mephiles folded his ears down.

"Dark?" Sonic hadn't been there for when Mephiles was explaining why he was in the alley and all.

"He's my b-brother. He was w-with me b-before I got attacked..."

"Yeah, also, Sonic..?" Tails added, getting the large hedge-creature's attention. "... From his account and the type of head wound he had, I think Metal might be on the prowl again..."

"As if we didn't have enough to worry about..." Sonic groaned, placing a large hand to his face. "All I need now is some assassin sending a hedgehog with psychic powers I had never met before to kill me for a reason he never voiced..."

Mephiles' face flushed a bit and he swiveled his ears back. He knew exactly what and who Sonic was talking about, even though he had no memory of it himself.

"... So... I guess this robot thingy is pretty bad, huh?" Mephiles said in a small voice.

"Haven't seen him for a while, but he's obsessed with trying to prove he's better than me in every aspect..." Sonic lifted his hand. "Last time, he got so out of hand, it took twelve of us plus a Chao with three of us in a super powered form and his creator to cool him down."

"You would not believe that he managed to blow up an airship with a summoned bolt of lightning..." Tails added, gesturing with the story. "That blew it apart and fused the pieces to him. I think he looked like a dragon or something more or less, with all sorts of parts resembling all twelve of us, with two eyes on top of each other... I think the teeth alone were about as big as me."

"You say 'twelve of us'. Who was there..?" Mephiles was extremely interested in this story.

Tails and Sonic explained each and everyone as Mephiles and Chip listened intently. Once they finished off with describing the fat purple cat, Mephiles waited for a minute, thinking, and said:

"I think I've either seen or met everyone by now other than that Knuckles guy and the girl hedgehog..."

"You have?"

"I think. We saw Big at Mystic Ruins, he gave us directions to Ice Cap." Mephiles explained. "I met Cream at the Chao gardens, when I was letting mine meet other Chao and I adopted an abandoned one. I've met the both of you, obviously. And I'm very sure the bee and his friends were at Twinkle Park that time Shadow and Rouge took me after I got out of the nearby hospital I was in because I was stuck in an avalanche at Ice Cap. I know Shadow and Rouge, and I vaguely remember Omega from a while back... That leaves Knuckles and... Amy, right..?"

Amazed at that, Sonic and Tails both nodded.

* * *

Dark pulled the sandwich apart carefully, inspecting every inch of it. Sniffing for any abnormalities, such as something that should not be there. He carefully pulled the three thin slices of ham and the two pieces of lettuce they touched out of it with the very tips of his fingers then discarded them on the plate and shoved it aside in disgust.

He had been very specific in explaining his eating habits to the hedge-bot to relay that, and it appeared it got lost on the way...

At least there was still the rest of the lettuce, a couple slices of tomato, a strip of pickle and a piece of cheese for each slice of bread, also two. Luckily for him, he wasn't lactose intolerant like Mephiles and was able to have an extra piece or two of the food provided to him.

His only real complaint about the preparation of the sandwich besides the meat was that the lack of mustard didn't bring out any flavor to the scarce bit of mayonnaise on each piece of bread, making any bit not accompanied by the rest of the filling a bit bland. And he would have preferred the bread toasted, so it wasn't squishing together from the condiments. And perhaps if it was on a sort of grain bread with the grains coating the crust, with a good brown color overall, rather than the pale and flimsy white bread...

But then again, he figured he should be thankful he was being fed at all.

"What's wrong with that part..?" Shu asked, pointing to the plate with the ham and two pieces of lettuce.

"_It's meat. I don't eat meat._" Dark said, not so much as looking at him before he quickly took a large bite out of his modified sandwich and closed his eyes in enjoyment of finally eating, as the last time was the night prior to being attacked, which was at least two days. He swallowed and said before getting another bite: "_I'm a vegetarian. I can't bring myself to eating something that was alive..._"

"What about the vegetables there?" Shu asked. "I mean, doesn't a plant use photosynthesis, and grow and all that? Wouldn't that make it alive too?"

"_Let me clarify: if it has a nervous system and is capable of feeling pain..._" Dark elaborated. "_I'm not eating it. I'm not a predator._"

Shu looked like he was thinking for a moment, and added: "What about chicken eggs? The ones at the store from chickens that weren't around roosters. They'd never be a chicken, so they aren't really alive if they aren't developing..."

Dark paused, raising his eyebrows.

"_... Interesting question._" He agreed. "_Chicken eggs provided to markets from hens not paired with roosters would of course be nothing more than just an egg. Hens produce eggs regardless of presence of the opposite gender._" Dark stated in a matter-of-factly kind of voice. "_However, it is still a protein byproduct of said animal. I'll be more lenient if it's a required ingredient for something else, like baked goods such as some breads, as it's not too much..._"

"But, you said you're a vegetarian. You'd still be eating an animal byproduct..."

"_I'm a vegetarian, not a vegan. I won't eat the meat..._" Dark clarified, pulling the piece of cheese out of the sandwich and biting into it. "_But something like this cheese... It's made from something an animal supplies and easily replenishes on it's own. A cow didn't need to be killed to provide it to us. I have a problem with the killing part._"

"You know, potentially, a cow could trample you."

"_Only if I give it reason to. By that point, I probably deserved it..._" Dark shrugged, taking another bite.

"Why do you keep saying you deserve something terrible?" Shu leaned against the cell wall, and slid to the floor to look up at Dark, who was sitting on the bed. "You don't look like a bad person to me..."

"_Unfortunately, my brain was conditioned to that mindset years ago..._" Dark glared once he swallowed. "_Someone I once admired grew corrupt on account of meddling with the natural order of things many years ago, and before I caught on, I was brainwashed into believing it was my fault for not being able to stop it..._" He huffed through his nose. "_After all, he came first, and I had no reason to take his words as false at the time..._" He pushed the plate of rejected sandwich parts and shoved it further away. "_Mephy was so different than him. Almost reminds me of myself before everything went all wrong. An incredible sense of empathy, as well... He catches almost every nuance before I can voice it, and can feel what I do or can't reach, and tries to explain it to me if I'm confused._"

"Huh... He sounds very nice..."

"_I wonder often about his sharpness. He's quite a problem solver, but seems to ignore repetitive results. Such as..._" Dark explained. "_Before we found a perpetual truce, I had done many bad things to him as a vent for what happened to me before, often without knowing it. He used to be terrified of me, but now, he's got no problem with resting his head on my shoulder. And the only reason he got hurt now was because I ignored his plea to stay out of the alley, and because he put himself between me at that robot that keeps being sent over here..._" Dark's ears swiveled back. "_He's not even very brave. He's got phobias of nearly everything potentially jarring, and has medical conditions that worsen his reactions to danger. He'd normally not get between something like that, so I can't imagine why he decided to do that... And the last thing he probably heard from me was me calling him an idiot for not staying hidden..._"

A dazed look touched his eyes, and he stared blankly before tossing the little bit of sandwich he had left aside, suddenly finding it too much for him to eat. In fact, he felt as if one more bite would make him sick to his stomach.

Scooting back on the bed to where his back was against the wall it was up against, he drew his knees up and folded his arms on them, then rested his head on them as well.

"You okay?" Shu asked, prompting Dark to lift his head and glare.

"_What do you think?_" He folded his ears back, growling. "_How could I possibly be doing okay when everything has gone horribly wrong? The cell alone is borderlining being just a bit too small for my liking!_"

"Oh, you must be one of those people who are claustrophobic." Shu moved from the corner to be near the bed so he could look up over the edge. "It it helps any, the walls won't close in..."

Dark look horrified.

"_Walls can do that?_" His fur started to raise in a ripple down his back, making his hairs look as prickly as his quills.

"No. Only in the movies." Shu tried to reassure, but Dark had already grown paler than normal, leaning back against the wall, eyes wide with contracted pupils, breathing getting heavy and deep as he clawed at the fur on his chest, trembling and whimpering weakly.

Dark's hand brushed up against the collar and it sent a quick jolt, quickly snapping him out of his episode in an instant. He hissed in pain, drawing his hand away with a shake of it, a small crackle of electricity sparking off it before dissipating.

Shu watched as Dark slumped against the wall with a half frustrated groan before the shadow turned away from him, folding his arms in a form of annoyance, still quivering slightly.

"Oh, I never realized you were scared of enclosed spaces..." Shu apologized.

"_Not so much as scared, as it's more like it brings back horrible memories..._" Dark muttered, shaking his head. "_Causes a relapse, really... Triggers a flashback of something I don't feel like discussing..._"

"Must have been bad, being trapped..."

Dark's fur bristled again. Merely a coincidence to be able to refer to his past, surely? There was no way Shu knew anything about him, right?

But he knew about Mephy's name before Dark said anything. And he seemed to be unaffected by Dark Gaia. And come to think of it... Why was there only one bed in the cell, and that Dark was the one tended to?

Dark calmed down and attributed that to simply being paranoid.

* * *

Mephiles' ears perked up at a sound, his entire body growing tense as he stared at the bushes. He looked as alert as a watchdog, but not nearly as fierce.

Then a pink hedgehog emerged from the bushes, looking as though she had been following Sonic and Chip, and appearing quite bewildered.

"Amy?" Tails said, looking at Sonic quickly before saying in the most fake acting kind of voice you ever heard. "Oh no! Look! What is that thing? Quick, get out of here, and save yourself! It might already be too late for me!"

I'm serious. He sounded like he was deadpanning it as he started to shove her back in the bushes.

"Oh, cool it, Tails!" Amy said, shoving back against him to get back into the open. "I know it's Sonic!"

"No you don't..." Tails snapped back. "Because you've gotten it wrong every time before now. What makes you so sure it's him this time?"

"Because Sonic is the only one who runs away." Amy said simply, sticking her nose in the air. "And I know my Sonic. And you just said it was him!"

"No I didn't!"

"Yes, you did! You said 'every time before now'! You all but just flat out said it!"

Mephiles, who had ducked behind the Tornado once the pink hedgehog appeared, not sure of what to think, peeked out from behind the plane as he appeared quite nervous about the scene before him.

"Tails, just stop. She got me this time..." Sonic scratched behind his head. "And since she already caught on, there's no point in keeping my night form a secret from her now either..."

"Hah! In your face, Tails!" Amy gloated, stepping to the side and causing Tails, who was still shoving her towards the bushes, to fall flat on his face with a yell of fright. "So, Sonic? What happened this time? Got bit by something? Cursed?"

"Eggman, again, I'm afraid." Sonic looked away nervously. "He managed to drain the Emeralds and I was right in the energy blast zone... Side effect, I think..."

"And who's this little guy?" Amy's attention was drawn to Chip as she smiled sweetly at the winged puppy, who smiled back.

"I don't really know, but Sonic calls me 'Chip'." He said, holding his gnawed on chocolate bar with both hands. "He's helping me find someone who knows me so I can remember what my real name is!"

"How nice! Sonic is always helping people!" Amy said happily.

Mephiles continued to watch, hoping to not be noticed as much, but Amy was quick to see the strange looking hedgehog.

"Oh, another friend of yours?" She added, looking at Sonic and Tails.

"Long story..." Tails shrugged with his hands in the air. "He's actually a friend of Shadow and Rouge's. He got in a bad spot, and we found him... Apparently, he got hurt by Metal Sonic, and his brother is missing." Tails explained. "We think his brother is with Eggman, so we're going to look into that, since we have to find Eggman anyway..."

"Metal? Why would Eggman send him after someone other than Sonic?"

Mephiles spoke up nervously.

"B-because D-Dark is being affected b-by that b-bad thing..." He stuttered, not liking how there was several people focused on him, namely ones he didn't know so well.

He was alright with Tails, who he had spent the whole day with, but Amy was too new to him, and what's more, she was quite loud and almost bossy sounding, despite trying to appear friendly to him.

"How terrible!" She gasped.

"We found him in an alley in Westopolis with a bad head wound, unconscious and half buried in snow." Sonic continued. "Couldn't just leave him there..."

Mephiles shuddered without meaning to and ducked behind the Tornado again, hoping that they'd just forget about him at the moment. All the attention was really running his nerves through a wringer, and made him wish he was back home with Shadow, Rouge and Dark.

"Hey, why are you hiding?" Amy's voice sounded off.

"Careful, Amy..." Tails added. "From what Shadow and Rouge told me, he's very shy around new people, and he'll get sick from too much stress."

"But we're not going to hurt him!"

"But think about it in his perspective..." Tails explained. "He's currently a thousand plus miles away from home, in a place he's never been before. He was attacked by a robot resembling a Mobian, and so was his brother, which there wasn't much of a trace left of to track. The only people he's comfortable around are too far away, and until this afternoon, thought he was missing or worse. And that's just scratching the surface." The fox added. "He's never met you before. He just found out about Sonic's problem and freaked out, thinking his brother would have the same too. You just come barging in on our little private clearing, making all sorts of noise-"

"Are you saying I'm too loud!" Amy shouted, missing the point.

"Yes. Calm down, seriously." Tails sighed. "The point is, I wouldn't be surprised if you're scaring him right now."

Mephiles was now staring blankly in his characteristic absentminded gaze, eyes wide and mouth hung open partway as Chip took notice and waved a hand in front of his face, unaware of Mephiles' now rare tendencies to have what was known as an "Absence Seizure", in which his brain activity

"Uh... Hey, guys?" Chip said, looking a little concerned. "... I think he's broken..."

* * *

Now, let's just say nothing worth noting happened for a bit. Say, like... A week. Everything between everyone was same old, same old. Shadow and Rouge were still anxious about Mephiles, Mephiles was still looking for Dark, Sonic was still looking for the Gaia Temples with Chip and Tails... And Dark? Dark was trying his best not to go completely stark raving mad at his situation.

Pacing back and forth with a fevered sense of mania for minutes at a time without pause, Dark suddenly stopped and slammed his own head against the wall in one swift movement, with enough force to cause a somewhat sickening impact sound that made Shu cringe.

"What did you do that for?"

"_Trying to shut him up..._" Dark grumbled in a low voice, lifting his head up with an unfazed look. "_Constantly trying to drill into my mind... Have to deny access one way or another..._"

"..." Shu seemed a bit concerned at his words. "... Yeah... Okay... Don't do that, it sounded like something cracked..."

"_Already done so..._" Dark raised a hand to just under his left ear and traced a short wobbly line downward with a finger. "_Hairline fracture and a bit of brain bouncing... Really messed me up for a while as far as coherence went..._"

"... Huh... How did... How did that happened..?" Shu sounded like he was trying to word things carefully as he stepped away just a little.

"_Stairs._"

"Who did that?"

Dark's features worked into a slow glare.

"_I didn't say I was thrown... How did you guess?_" He narrowed his eyes.

"Uh... You really don't look like the kind who'd trip..." Shu said nervously, folding his ears back. "So I figured someone must have done something to you..."

Dark was still skeptical, but nonetheless continued.

"_Horrible fire monster tried to suffocate me, then slashed my side... That's how I ended up in the hospital..._" Dark folded his arms and leaned against the wall, watching Shu closely. "_For blowing his cover, he reacted violently and found me again, dragged me down the hall, then threw me down the stairwell, which was at least as standard flight. Couldn't react fast enough because I was medicated with painkillers earlier for the slash, which dulled my reaction time. Curled up to try and protect myself, but the edge of a step struck right here-_" Dark gestured to under his ear again. "_-and the force cracked my skull just a bit. By then, I lost consciousness before I hit the bottom. Mephy claims I had very little brain activity for the rest of the night, but I don't see how that didn't leave lasting damage... That's just part of it. My mind was violated as well, and kinda broke me for a while..._"

Dark could have sworn Shu twitched during some parts of this.

"Dark... Wow, I... That must have been terrifying."

"_Invoked my first real nightmare. And sparked a phobia of being near stairs that go high enough to get hurt. And my fur doesn't grow right where I was clawed. And the crack in my skull does nothing to help the severity of my migraine condition..._" Dark rattled off in a fevered tone, as if he really couldn't stop himself from speaking so much. He figured it was because he was trying to take his mind off being trapped in a cell for most of the week (allowed out a few times for "necessary" reasons), and being worried about if he'd ever see Mephiles again. "_All because I didn't play along with his twisted game... He was always so vicious if I set him off... Well, not always... There was a time before he was ruined when he was quite opposite..._"

"Wait, who now..?" Shu tilted his head, trying to recall if Dark clarified who he was speaking of now.

"_Didn't I say?_" Dark was sure he did, but concluded he overlooked it. "_Ah... My older twin brother. He was corrupted in a miscalculation in science. Both of us, really... But the effects took longer to reach me. He grew increasingly aggressive and sadistic before I realized it, and I steadily lost my mind, possibly due to what happened to him and the experiments on us both._" Dark shifted uncomfortably. "_I also grew more and more intelligent over time, but all too late to know how to reverse it... Not that I understand how it would have been done... I just know the theory of how to do it... Part of a curse, really, knowing 'how' without clearly seeing 'why'..._"

"Eh..?"

Dark sighed and held his head back in exasperation.

"_For example... That equation for measurements and whatnot that Human had scrawled on that board when I passed by earlier when I was let out for personal needs..._" Dark explained more clearly. "_The one for whatever bug-like machine he was going to use on whoever... He didn't simplify the X far enough, focusing too much on factoring on the other half... In other words, it's going to malfunction with a well aimed force of impact to the hull with a small but bipedal mammal approximately three feet, three inches tall and seventy-five pounds, possibly that blue hedgehog. I don't know what I just said, but it's accurate..._"

Without warning, Dark slammed the back of his head into the wall again, growling in frustration.

"_... Ask me something else so I can ignore him..._" Dark huffed. "_Relentless, he is... Prodding too much into subjects that should not-_"

Dark suddenly froze with a horrified look on his face, eyes growing wide ever so slowly. Whatever Dire said really hit Dark hard with little effort.

Dark slid to the ground slowly, sitting against the wall with his back against it, one leg drawn up to rest an arm on as his pale face drained into a sickly cream color, inhaling sharply as he curled inward on himself to hide his horrified expression, trembling visibly.

What could Dire have said to have rendered Dark so helpless?

_Y'know... If Mephiles is dead... No one will even care that you're missing..._


	25. iPod iPod iPod iPod

Yellow eyes blinked in anticipation, watching the door very carefully. The cat swished his fluffy tail from side to side, wondering when he was going to see Dark again.

Getting up, he paced in front of the door, mewing in frustration before jumping up onto the window sill, his tail waving between the blinds.

Tape was getting anxious. Dark would never leave him alone this long. Something must have happened. He remembered seeing those odd looking people earlier that Shadow and Rouge spoke with, but Tape could only understand a limited amount of words that they spoke.

The Chao were equally worried. They knew Mephiles would not have spent this long out of the house without Shadow and Rouge.

_Where's Dad? It's not like him to be out this long..._ Sharpe's emotion dot twisted into a question mark.

_I overheard something happened to him and Dark..._ Kai said in a low tone, as if worried if saying it would cause more bad to happen.

Krystal looked upset, so Sharpe put a paw around her shoulder to calm his sister down.

At the sound of Dark's name in Chao Speak, Tape's ears perked up and he poked his head out of the blinds.

_Dark?_ The cat said in very broken Chao, not at all fluent, and therefore hard to understand between him and the Chao. _Dark?_ The tone indicated that he was asking about information. Also, if we heard it, it would have simply been a "Eh-rr?" sound of some sort.

Kai shrugged and Tape's head lowered in disappointment.

* * *

Mephiles eventually learned the origin of the mysterious earthquakes, not at all pleased initially, as Sonic had inadvertently caused parts of a building to hit Dark in the head and give him amnesia.

"What the crud!" Mephiles shouted once Sonic confirmed it. "Dark lost his memory because a building collapsed on him! Not to mention all those other people at the hospital having to be relocated! And don't forget all those other buildings affected! Be careful next time!"

"You should have seen when he left after the city was flooded by Chaos..." Tails said casually, lounging sideways in the cockpit of the Tornado while reading a book and sipping a soda through a straw. "Off into the sunset, like a true hero... And leaving the rest of us to clean up afterwards..."

"Hey, I came back to help the refugees stuck in the debris!" Sonic defended. "I needed to take a quick break, after all... I had just gone Super and cooled down a really ticked off water beast... You can't have expected me to jump in that quickly after that!"

"Water beast? Flood?" Mephiles cringed visibly, bringing his arms up. "Geeze... Good thing I wasn't there, then... I would have been scared quill-less! Literally! My quills would have just fallen off from fright, and made me bald!"

"You're scared of water, too?" Sonic lifted his ears up.

"Yeah. _Bad_ near drowning experiences, and I can't swim..." Mephiles nodded. "I died once from drowning... Shadiw was there, so that's why I'm alive now. CPR."

"Wow. Me too!" Sonic said. "Except for the actually drowning part. And the dying. And the 'kiss of life'. With Shadow..." He rubbed the back if his neck. "But, I can't swim either, so I know how you feel."

"Huh... So... How many more Emeralds are left..?" Mephiles asked.

"Let's see... One quake for the splitting of the earth... Two for the Emeralds so far... Five."

Mephiles threw his head back in frustration.

"Dark's so going to be mad or go mad by the time I get there..." He groaned. "He doesn't even know I'm going to find him... I wish there was a way..."

"Well, you could come along with a few of the areas and hope a robot relays the images of us and hope Dark gets a chance to see it..?" Sonic offered.

"That's a really long shot..." Mephiles opened his eyes. "And I don't fancy the idea of potentially bursting into flames on contact with whatever's out there... Even if I am fireproof..."

Mephiles was referring to the night previous where a hidden thing in a wall shot out flames and set fire to Sonic's shaggy were-fur, in which Sonic the Werehog flailed about helplessly before jumping into a strangely convenient pond, sitting there with a sizzle and steam sound and later smelling like a wet dog because of his fur.

"You're fireproof? Then what's the problem?"

"My skin won't blister or melt... But my fur will singe off, and I still feel the heat..." Mephiles narrowed his eyes. "I just won't have lasting damage... And look like a naked pink rat..."

"Your skin is pink under that fur? Mine's peach..." Sonic added, needlessly distracted.

"Not pink pink... But light pink... Like my tongue..."

"Huh... Never noticed, that tongue is a girly pink!"

"I've been told... I can't help it..." Mephiles mumbled and clamped his mouth shut to avoid needless attention to the mouth muscle.

"Does food taste different with a pinker tongue?" Chip hovered in front of him, genuinely curious.

Mephiles gawked at him for a moment before saying loudly: "Yours is the same color as mine!"

"Wow! Really?" Chip hovered to the reflective side of the plane and stuck his tongue out to see. "It is! Wow! We're like tongue brothers! You can have half my chocolate!"

"Uh, thanks?" Mephiles was very confused at what Chip meant by anything, and figured to just go with it.

* * *

Dark was just looking worse and worse as time progressed. His quills looked thin, with a few littering the floor, his short fur was sticking together at the ends, his eyes were rimmed with those shadowy dark circles, and his refusal to finish eating his food left him looking just a bit more underweight.

Pillows propped up against the wall on the bed, he reclined and hummed tunelessly with his eyes closed, moving his head from side to side slowly in non existent beat with it.

Shu watched him, regarding him with some concern.

"You really shouldn't let that go to waste..." He pointed to the plate of food Dark had picked at, then set aside.

Dark snapped one eye open and stared at him intently.

"_Nor should you be concerned..._" He said edgily. "_Back off..._"

"Cranky much..?"

"_If I wasn't so low in mood right now... I'd jump you..._" Dark growled. "_Consider yourself lucky..._"

"You know, you look worse than when you got here..." Shu added in a bit of concern.

"_And you look the same for someone who was supposedly here before me..._" Dark said slowly, sitting up more.

Shu looked a bit nervous again.

"Aw, c'mon. It's probably because I've been taking better care of myself..." He backed away, folding his ears back.

"_And yet... In the week or so I've been here, no one has brought you food..._" Dark frowned, getting up off the bed and stepping towards him in a manner similar to how he did when he broke free from the Scepter, except his head was tilted to look up at him intently. "_There is only one bed in this cell, but you have not made any attempt to use it, nor rest. You look too well kept to have been here as a prisoner longer than me. No one has tended to you whatsoever. And above all, you keep hitting information about me dead on before I confirm it..._"

"You're getting paranoid again, Dark..." Shu brought his hands up to create a barrier.

"_Again? You have never seen me paranoid!_" Dark snapped angrily, slamming a hand against the cell wall near the green and black hedgehog. "_Who are you really! Answer me!_"

"I'm Shu!" Shu shouted back, pressing his back against the wall. "You're just overreacting!"

He bit down on his lower lip, and Dark could see that he was missing a tooth. A canine tooth, be exact.

Suddenly, Dark pulled back, clutching a hand to the left side of his head tightly, a sharp pain piercing through his brain mercilessly. He eased himself to the ground, knowing it would be a matter of time before his body would have made him do so anyway.

He was having a migraine.

Shu appeared horrified.

"Oh, no! I didn't mean to!" He shouted, stepping away from him. "I was doing so good so far!"

If his head wasn't in so much pain right now, he would have widened his eyes in horror. Instead, he grabbed the plate and threw it at Shu, trying to get him away further.

"_GET AWAY FROM ME!_" He shrieked just as Shu dodged it and it shattered against the wall.

When Dark was able to open an eye more clearly, a look of absolute terror spread across his face as he felt something wet run from one side of his nose, him uttering various choking and gasping sounds horror as he did. Then he tasted something metallic.

He brought his hand up to his nose and dabbed the back of it to the nostril, and looked down, face getting paler at what he saw.

Blood. He was having a nosebleed. Spontaneously. Which wasn't normal. Given that it was accompanied with the pain in his head and sinus pressure, and possibly the heat... He probably should help it let up fast...

Looking back up at Shu, he realized something else that made even the blood flowing out his now pinched nose run cold.

There was nothing there. And by the looks of it... There probably never was.

Dark shrank against the wall behind him, gasping like a fish out of water as he looked around frantically, trying to prove to himself that he had not been speaking with a hallucination this whole week, but nothing was looking like it would help.

Then he heard something that he last heard over a week ago. Something that made his body freeze up and his pupils contract to pinpricks.

"_I really am sorry for deceiving you, Dark... But it was the only I could get you to speak with me..._"

Dark's face visibly drained of color and he choked on words audibly until he managed to clear his throat to shriek.

* * *

Orbot popped open, out of his ball form, and looked around in confusion.

"Am I the only one who hears that..?"

"The sound of me not caring?" Metal didn't looking at him in annoyance.

"Oh, very humorous... I mean that screaming sound."

"Odd... Now that you mention it..." Metal Sonic suddenly took interest. "It sounds like that bizarre hedgehog... Dark, isn't it?"

"You probably should check on him, being that you've kinda been assigned that job..."

If Metal was capable of making a groan of exasperation, he did his best convincing imitation. He'd been checking on Dark constantly because not only did Eggman force him to, but just about every other speaking bot was reminding him, and it was getting boring and undesirable. Dark had stopped sending back edgy remarks that Metal partly enjoyed their cleverness and underlying irony. He was just boring now.

Coming across Dark's cell, he was a little taken aback to find the odd hedgehog repeatedly SpinDashing against the walls, some of which were spotted with blood, likely from whacking himself again and again at the walls at such full speed.

He wasn't supposed to do that.

Metal would have inhaled deeply and slowly if he could. Then he stepped into the cell and caught Dark when he passed by midair, still in a ball. He unfurled and started clawing frantically at whatever was in front of him, which was the top of Metal's head, decorating his shiny blue paint job with scrapes and gouges, even effectively bending one of his metal ears. Something the hedge-bot was not too pleased about.

Turning Dark around, so that he wasn't causing anymore damage, he pulled him out of the cell and back to the main room where everyone gathered, and towards Eggman.

"Yeah, look... He's freaking out again..." Metal said with very little concern. "And it looks like he threw himself so much at the wall, his nose is bleeding. You ne-"

Metal didn't get to finish. Dark pulled free and spun around and lunged at him, knocking him to the ground. Metal's sensors hadn't registered Dark's swift movement and this actually startled him enough that he made a sound resembling shock.

Then what happened next made the egg shaped Human scream in both fright and for his prized robot.

Dark slammed Metal's head against the floor, tore the circuitry in his neck, causing sparks to fly as Metal's LED display flatlined. Then Dark proceeded to dismantle the robot manually and roughly, throwing the pieces aside with no care for the condition of the pieces.

"OH MY GOD! METAL!" Eggman screamed, quickly running for the collar controller that was discarded on a console keyboard and cranked the dial darn near up to eleven, the berserk hedgehog creature freezing as electricity crackled through him and his quills before he fell sideways off Metal, laughing weakly as Eggman slowly turned it down to not hurt him more than needed.

Eggman stared at the pieces of the robot on the floor before him. Never once did Sonic dismantle Metal with such brutality, nor that quickly. Dark had achieved all that in less than ten seconds.

Picking up the mangled robot, he assessed what kind of repairs would be needed. The left arm would need to be reattached, for one thing. And the gouges would need to be worked out. And repainted. A new LED display, since this one was cracked... He had a spare, so that would be easy. Most of everything would be easily repaired or replaced with his resources.

Except.

The vocal processor. Dark had broken it in half.

That meant that Metal would not be able to speak until a replacement compatible with his hardware was obtained.

Given the damage and how quickly it was stopped, Eggman was just pleased it hadn't been worse.

He couldn't wait to finish that extraction machine... Then Dark would be out of his hair (heh... He's bald!).


	26. Thank you iPod

Dark couldn't breathe from laughing so much. It was just so unbearably hilarious to him.

There was no Shu. Shu was never there. He had been deceived by Iblis.

Quite convincingly at that, as he never once suspected it to have been the horrible fire monster. He had suspected Shu to have been false, but to be his "dead" older brother?

"_Bravo! Bra-vo, Brother!_" Dark clapped his hand in lunacy, trying to contain his snorting and laughter enough to speak clearly. "_You finally learned to act! You really got me this time!_"

Orbot hopped around the containment cell anxiously. Dark had been quickly placed in there in hopes that he would calm down and not only need supervision, but at least be able to left alone. Even if he did trash Metal Sonic, Eggman had to bear in mind that Dark belonged to someone else, and allowing harm of any kind to befall him would easily ruin his current reputation. Frankly, Dark was in that containment cell, which was a large rounded tube with a good supply of oxygen pumped in it, intended to give full visibility, and keep the contained in sight of everyone for quick assistance. It was generally for recovering bots reacting badly to a hacked virus or a malfunction, but all the same, it should hold Dark.

Had Dark not been so loopy at the moment, he might have quickly started to panic, as the idea of a glass tube (with plenty of pacing distance) keeping him trapped would have easily made him remember the Scepter of Darkness, and Eggman would have had a much larger problem of a crazy, panicking creature that resembled a Mobian hedgehog on his hands.

Dark was speaking with nothing. Even Dark knew it, as Iblis only seemed to show up when he was alone, or when no one was paying attention. Dark was simply trying to get him to appear, though he knew it would only happen if he was left by himself. And he was enjoying that. He could freely heckle him without fear... And he knew Iblis could hear him, no matter where he was.

"_Come on ooouuut! I know you're theeerrre!_" Dark thrilled in a singsongish voice, grinning in a somewhat unsettling way. "_Don't tell me _you're_ scared of me!_" Dark laughed maniacally again, the sound echoing inside the tube. "_Why don't you ever show up when I have friends around! Don't you want to meet them! Don't you want to know about who your little brother is with when you're not here!_"

Eggman paused on his soldering of Metal's arm, looking up through his goggles as Dark slid to the ground, throwing his head back and laughing as if everything was a joke to him.

"... Never again..." He said, picking up the next tool. "Never again am I going near anything that looks like him when this is over..."

He then started the painstaking task of reattaching and splicing every wire in Metal's arm to their respective ends, glad that he had the foresight to make every wire a different color when he first built him.

Metal's left fingers twitched involuntarily, likely due to having a quick surge of power jolt to them, as Metal was in a self preserving standby mode at the moment, which was the robotic equivalent of a coma.

He estimated the entire rebuilding procedure to take the rest of the night, perhaps longer if Dark continued to distract him.

* * *

As if having to deal with an unresponsive Sympathy and a distraught Logic wasn't bad enough, Dark's nervous break was causing Insanity (Zane for short) to be unusually active.

"Unusually", as he was often silent and withdrawn, and was well aware that any fluctuations in his activities was a clear sign that Dark was in delusion. It wasn't his fault... That was just his purpose. The more Dark was connected with him, the more Zane was active, and needed to be calmed down.

His raucous laughter rang in the abyss, some of the other Darks looking at him anxiously as he threw his head back and stumbled backwards, not able to keep himself upright vey well.

Knowing the procedure by now, one of the Darks moved forward, ready to grab and restrain him as the rest prepared to calm him down.

Zane jumped back out of the way, not really intending to, but he just hated the whole process and just wanted a few moments of freedom before he was back into his usual state.

"_Zane! Hold still!_" Rage snapped at him, not in the mood for this at all. "_You are not going to be pulling this stunt right now while this is going on!_"

"_Rage, it's not his fault..._" Reese tried to explain, but a growl from his more assertive counterpart make him quickly backpedal. "_... N-Nevermind..._" He held his hands up and backed away slowly.

Zane laughed like a hyena, sidestepping just as Rage tried to grab his wrist.

"_C-can't you t-try harder?_" Zane managed while stifling a giggle. "_You know as well as-ah ha ha ha ha-as well as I th-that I don't like this!_"

"_You could help me, here!_" Rage snapped, trying again, but his crazier counterpart simply hopped back, and was now jumping up and down excitedly.

"_It's t-taking all my willpower to k-keep from running around!_" Zane protested behind a grin before roaring with insane laughter again.

Reese was about to offer a suggestion before he realized something everyone overlooked.

"_Has anybody seen Euphie..?_"

Immediately, everything just stopped, even Zane, who was trying to muffle himself behind his hands, well aware of how serious this was.

* * *

Logic had retreated to a deeper part of Dark's mind... One that was hardly touched and therefore, no one would find him as easily.

What he didn't count on was Euphie following after him.

"_Euphoria! What are- You shouldn't- Why aren't you back with the others!_" Logic stammered, not only because he was surprised to see him (or as well as he could with his broken glasses), but was also shocked that the little Dark had easily left the watchful eyes of the other emotions.

Euphie held onto the paw of his rabbit toy with one hand and dragged it behind him as he moved closer, wishing he could explain everything as well as he thought, but was again frustrated by his limited vocabulary.

He wanted to tell him that Zane was active and that they needed him, not only because he was the best at calming him down, but also because this was such a troubling time, and everyone was lost without Logic's guidance. No one really cared if Logic was picked apart and demeaned in front of them... They all knew that Logic would always be able to bring order to the Chaos befalling them. Because he always had before.

"_Back?_"

"_Euphie... I can't do anything..._" Logic closed his eyes and shook his head. "_My laptop is destroyed, I can hardly see, and one of us has already been disconnected because I couldn't think of a plan fast enough..._" Sighing heavily, he added; "_All my fault, really... I shouldn't have left my laptop alone..._"

Euphie looked up at him, pulling his rabbit toy into his arms to hug it.

"_Unless we can alert Dark, Sympathy is going to be stuck like that..._" Logic added, grabbing his quills in frustration. "_But it's near impossible without my laptop... And everyone thinks I can fix this... But... But I can't! I just can't!_"

Euphie listened to him as he continued explaining, watching him closely as Logic dropped to the ground, curling inward into a defensive ball.

"_... I failed everyone... Dark will relapse back into a heartless monster... And everything we've all worked for will be for nothing..._"

Euphie perked his ears forward, watching Logic with quite possibly the most genuinely innocent look that was effortlessly possible with him.

Hesitating to think of how to word this, he finally managed: "_... Dire bad... Not your fault Impy hurt... We need you..._" which, despite the simplified and broken structure, translated to: "_Dire's bad. It wasn't your fault Sympathy was disconnected. And, we all need you back there._"

Euphie wondered if he would ever be developmentally capable of forming complex words with his tongue. In his near eleven year existence, he was still stuck at no older than a toddler, while the rest of the Darks were as articulate and vocally sophisticated as Dark himself.

Sure, being so young looking and seemingly infantile added to the charm of his assigned emotion to handle, and did make it easier... But sometimes it really sucked being unable to speak the way he thought.

When Logic looked up, Euphie held his hand up and twirled his index finger in the air in the motion of a spiraling tornado. A universal sign among the Darks that alerted the rest that Zane was active.

"_... Now?_" Logic added incredulously, wondering how else could everything go wrong.

* * *

Mephiles was not sure of what to think of Chun-Nan.

On one hand, it was quite beautiful, with a lovely backdrop of mountains, cliffs, bamboo forests and oriental dragons as decor as paper lanterns hung from above, with an interesting string and flute instrument as ambience.

On the other... There was a massive misty waterfall, with the main village being right smack dab next to it, with much of the water flowing between the streets paved with bricks and bridges... Much like Soleanna was designed, sans waterfall.

It took much coaxing and actual force to pry him from the safety of the Tornado. Sonic half wished for night to already come so it would be much easier, but it was still hardly afternoon.

"You're gonna tear the seats!" Tails squawked, as Mephiles had clamped his clawed hands tightly on the back of said seat, using every ounce of effort and fear fueled strength he had to not go anywhere near the water.

"No!" Mephiles shouted almost childishly, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head. "No! No! No! I'm not going near anywhere I could drown!"

"The water's hardly chest deep!" Sonic tried to explain. "I can't swim either, but that's shallow enough to wade in!"

"No!"

"Geeze... Makes me wonder what must have happened to make him hate water this much..." Tails mused while trying to pry Mephiles off with the emergency crowbar he had stowed under the pilot seat. He had to admit... Mephiles' grip was astounding for someone who seemed to be lacking a bit on the physical muscular attributes. "Now really, this is getting ridiculous! We'll buy you a life jacket if it makes you feel any safer!"

"A what now?" Mephiles looked at him in confusion while still holding on.

"... Unbelievable." Tails rolled his eyes a fraction, but remained more or less polite on his expression. "Y'know... What people wear on boats?"

"I've never been on one..."

"... It keeps you from sinking." Sonic added, trying to help as Chip hovered in front of Mephiles, scratching his head in thought before shrugging.

"I got nothing..." Chip shook his head.

One more pull, and Mephiles was yanked free. Unfortunately, Sonic, who was the one who had the grip on him, stumbled back from the force, and both of them toppled backward over the edge and into the stream behind them.

Naturally, Mephiles shrieked as if someone was trying to kill him. Sonic, who was better in control of his own hydrophobia, quickly stood up and pulled Mephiles to his feet the moment they plunged under. Mephiles, who had been paralyzed with fear, hadn't even thought of standing, and was lucky to have had Sonic help him.

Soaked from head to toe, both blue, green eyed hedgehog boys shuddered for their own reasons. Sonic, because he was being chilled by the breeze rushing past. Mephiles, because all he could think of in rapid fire thought was: "_Get out of the water oh my god this is terrible i could have drowned again i want shadow and rouge and dark and how did i get stuck in__-_" You get the gist of it.

Sonic had to drag him out, as the crystal hedgehog's brain seemed to not be functioning enough at the moment to do so himself.

Within minutes, he was now sitting on a bench, trembling and staring ahead with his eyes wide open and his teeth clenched. No matter how long ago it was, Mephiles would never get used to being over his head in water.

Feeling as if it was kind of his fault, Sonic stepped over to the nearby shop and purchased a few things with the Rings he had been picking up off the paths to the keys and temples. Among them was a basket of fresh hot meat buns, the peach variant and a fluffy green towel.

"Here..." He handed the towel to Mephiles, who quickly grabbed it and started drying his fur before hiding half his face behind it. Sonic set one of the baskets down on the bench and pulled open the lid. "Alright... Who's interested in a hot meat bun..?"

"Me! Me! Pick me!" Chip chirped happily, waving his hand in the air excitedly. "These look great!"

"Tails?"

"Sure. It's almost noon anyway..." Tails nodded and sat down on the ground next to the bench.

"... Kay... That's two out of three... Wanna hit it even..?" Sonic looked at Mephiles, who had been intrigued by the scent his superpowered nose had picked up as soon as the lid was lifted.

Mephiles nodded slowly before asking: "... Are they lactose free..?"

"Way ahead of ya..." Sonic tossed one to Chip and Tails each before sending one Mephiles' way, who almost fumbled it, but quickly saved it with a mental hold. "The shop owner assures that it's safe for everyone except those who don't like meat." Noticing Mephiles' mind catch, he added: "Are you psychic?"

"I guess. Not very good, though..." Mephiles shrugged nervously, holding the bun with both hands now, the towel around his shoulders. "I can move small things with my mind... But big things are too heavy. So, I can't, like, move a bridge or anything like that... It's nothing too special."

"Are you kidding? Do you know how many people can move anything with their minds?"

"... No."

"Let's put this into perspective... I've only really met one other person who could do that without Chaos Emeralds or magic doohickies." Sonic said through a mouthful of meat bun, still standing up. "I've been all over the place, past, present and future... Met a lot of people. This is a rare trait. It's more special than you think."

"It doesn't do much, though." Mephiles hung his head. "I can't move anything too heavy, and usually it has to be real close... The only thing it's good for is making sure I don't drop something..."

"Then it's good for something." Sonic said, rolling his eyes a little. "Maybe if you practice with it, you could do more. What else can you do?"

Mephiles listed each of his known abilities he could think of off the top of his head, as well as where the weak spots in them were and their limits.

"-But I can only do so much until I start to feel it, too. So, I can kinda cut down the recovery time, but it's not instant." He finished on his healing ability. "Oh... And for some reason, if you shave my quills off, it takes a week to grow back to normal, with the crystals. I don't know what good that does other than keep me from being bald for too long. Dark's quills took a month to start to look noticeable after they had thinned out from stress... So I'm guessing a week is pretty fast." Mephiles was now working on a peach bun. "I don't know if that counts... But it's odd."

* * *

Originally, Mephiles' babble thing after falling in the water was strung together, but it won't save like that here. You can view the original version on DeviantArt.


	27. Something to be said for iPod Touches

The red optical display flickered on, starting out dim before getting brighter.

What happened? The last thing Metal could recall was bringing an apparently self destructive Dark to the attention of Dr. Eggman.

A quick glance downward to his arm, and he could see several scratches and dents he was certain wasn't there before.

* * *

Having spent the better part of five minutes trying to retrieve a small ball toy for Tape from under the couch, Shadow happened upon two spiral bound books that have been shoved under there for some strange reason.

Curious to a degree, he pulled them out and examined the outsides, finding them to be simple school quality notebooks, with not so much as a mark on the solid color covers.

Remembering of a suggestion of a journal of some sort for Dark to record whatever he felt like, mainly to review in later appointments, Shadow wondered if these were it. He had yet to even see a trace of anything indicating that the idea was being used, and with these under the couch, it was obvious Dark didn't seem to like the idea all too well and must have tried to hide them when he was allowed out of the hospital after recovering from his side slash.

Further curious as to what might be hidden in between the thin cardboard covers, Shadow didn't hesitate in pulling one open then the next to find the earliest dated entry.

The first page simply rambled on and on about how Dark was supposed to write something, anything, whatever came to mind. It even trailed off about how stupid and pointless he found the practice of writing it, and listed off what he would rather be doing than filling the page...

The second page was more or less the same. It started out with how much he hated the idea of doing this, and how he couldn't see what it accomplished.

Skipping ahead, sensing a pattern in the first week and a half's worth of writing, Shadow finally found something different.

_I can't wait to get out of this hospital. Every time I have to pass by those stairs down the hall, a flash of memory is triggered, even if only for a second. It doesn't help that the tiles are still gouged from my claws desperately trying to anchor myself as Iblis dragged me towards the stairs, shoving me down them, and watching with indifference before leaving._

The handwriting had gotten darker and more pressed into the paper as it went on, as if Dark had been trying hard not to snap the pencil or shove it through the notebook.

Instead of another paragraph, Dark seemed has been more content with scribbling the rest out as a picture.

Dark wasn't much of an artist, as his drawings were just cartoony stick figure doodles, with a fair degree of proportions, but it seemed as if he didn't care to put details beyond at least one identifying feature into each figure.

Flipping through each page quickly, Shadow found quite a lot of pages featuring doodles, with some of them in the margins, some at the bottom of the pages, and some taking up the whole page as well.

Jumping back to the first one, he examined it, seeing that it was of Dark sitting on the floor holding a piece of string over a black cat with white on his snout and toes, who was falling over to reach up at it. Dark had drawn himself playing with his cat. Written next to it was: "Should have made up a better name..."

The pictures ranged from everything, it seemed, wether it be illustrating the written content, or simply decorating the boring blank spaces along the edges, such as doodles interacting with the lines of the paper, as if some of them were edges and platforms.

The usage between words and pictures fluctuated as they went further into the book, as if Dark used those in place of hard to find descriptions.

Something caught Shadow's eye, dated about the time Dark and Mephiles had been left at home while Shadow and Rouge were sent on a GUN mission.

_First migraine since he disappeared. It was horrible. I felt like my skull had been smashed into a wall repeatedly... It was too much and I fainted, only to wake up hours later to find that Mephy had called that doctor over. Apparently, a small injury I had gotten before under my quills had been missed and I had gotten an infection..._

_I don't see how that explains the severe headache, or what Mephy said I was doing before I woke up. Speaking of an oncoming epidemic, with everyone acting strangely...? That we can't stop it..? Surely it was just the ramblings of a sick me... It's nothing new that I'm vocal while unconscious..._

Another entry:

_Mephy said I've been sleepwalking again. He said he found me outside last night, asleep under the tree. I don't remember that at all... I just remember waking up to find him feeling my forehead for a fever. He said I was babbling again about that thing... And that I panicked under the tree when I "realized" I wasn't in the house. I really don't remember that, at all._

_Mephy said it was probably nothing, but what unnerves me is that he said I was talking about the same stuff. Also... How did I get out of the house, if it was locked and I'm not very coordinated when sleepwalking..?_

There was a bit of missing dates, presumably about the time Dark was missing in the city, and when he was back at the hospital before he got amnesia.

When it resumed, it was drastically different in tone, and almost shaky in writing:

_My head hurts again. Possibly from the dish Shadow smashed over my head. I'm so tired, but I'm afraid to fall asleep. I remember everything again, and I'm wary of what might resurface in my subconscious, now that I've made a startling revelation..._

_I'm acting the same as Iblis did before he went mad. Today, I snapped and lashed out viciously at Mephy before I could stop myself, backing him into a wall and shouting and barking at him for blurting out my problem... I all but actually attacked him. I felt so sick afterward when I realized I had emulated Iblis on quite possibly the only person who actually cares if I'm here or not._

Another:

_I keep seeing him. It only happens when I'm alone, so I KNOW that it's just a hallucination. Furthermore, his demeanor is nothing like what I'm used to. Remorseful? Give me a break! I know better!_

_I just wish I knew how to explain the claw mark on my arm, since I know I didn't do that, and even Mephy was baffled._

Another one:

_What a horrible day. I write this, as of now, after actually vomiting on Shadow, after I tried to warn him to not to help me during my migraine. Ignoring me, of course, because Mephy had asked him to check on me, and the movement was too much for me at the moment..._

_Before that, I had been telling off that illusion that refused to leave me alone. I actually felt a bit better, perhaps because I got some satisfaction in seeing Iblis, real or not, speechless and at a loss for his action. I know it's not real, but I felt better at being able to snap at him and say exactly how I felt without fear of being backhanded, choked or slashed._

_And before that, I had an even worse experience than the migraine and throwing up on Shadow. I met the creature that's been tormenting me for Dark Gaia. He calls himself Dire, and seems to enjoy using my form to intimidate me. It works surprisingly well... He dug my claws into his own face and snapped his own neck just to make a point._

_He reformed into his true shape for a moment, which resembles a very short and fat neon blue and pink spotted dinosaur lacking a tail. It doesn't seem like such a ridiculous looking creature could be a threat, but looks are deceiving. He's very good at attacking the psyche, leaving me helpless without having to leave a mark on me._

_It's also very clear that he's a lunatic, as he did all this gleefully as if he were playing a simple child's game. He's tried to convince me that Mephy doesn't really care about me, and that I'm really alone. He says that it's illogical that Mephiles would willingly put up with me if all he gets in return is terrible behavior and hostility... That's not true! Mephy cares! He would stay up all night with me if I couldn't sleep! He went through so mcuh trouble to keep me around and from dying, how could it be otherwise? Dire is obviously trying to turn me against him, and it's not going to work! Mephiles is not like Iblis! He's not going to-_

Shadow was jerked out of his thoughts and readings swiftly when he heard someone cough.

Snapping his head up, he looked over his should and saw that Rouge was standing behind the couch, arms crossed and a looks of slight annoyance on her face.

"What are you reading?"

"Uh..."

"Those wouldn't happen to be from under the couch, would they?"

"How did you know?" Shadow blurted out before realizing he just confirmed it. He stuttered angrily with himself before slapping a hand to his forehead. "Yes. But how did you know those were there?"

"Nothing goes on in this house I don't know." Rouge reached over and pulled the notebooks out of his hands. "If Dark knew you were looking at these, not only would he stop altogether, but he would really have a fit."

"But, Dark's not here right now..."

"And that makes it okay?"

"No. But, I mean, I found them, and just wondered if there was anything in them that could help us out..."

"Mephiles already said he had an idea where to find him."

"No, I mean about understanding him." Shadow tried again. "Just look through a few pages."

"Shadow, that an invasion of-"

Shadow snatched one of the books from her hands and flipped to a page he recognized from the small scene of doodles on the top area, then shoved it back in her hands.

"Shadow, I'm serious. I don't think-"

"Just read it."

It was an entry of Dark recounting the time before the Soleanna Disaster, before he and his twin had felt the effects of experimenting, and when they were just elements. How curious Dark was about every new concept that popped into his mind. How close his brother's presence always was and how happy he was to have him. How Dark would babble on and on about the new things his brain was learning and how he would share them with Iblis...

And then, one day, something was different. Iblis started to circle around him, as if to keep him from from venturing towards the edge. When he questioned that, Iblis only answered with a "Stay here." and Dark later realized, as of writing that, that Iblis must have sensed something was strange about the outer edges, and tried to keep Dark towards the center. Perhaps the reason why Iblis was the first to go mad, as he had more exposure.

Eventually, the circling stopped, and Iblis started to push Dark around the area, barking at him for just staying there. Dark was confused, as he had only been doing what he was asked.

It got stranger for him, as not only did Iblis continue to act strangely, but information about things Dark did not understand started to push into his mind, often confusing him further as he tried to sort out what was what.

He ventured too close to the edge one day, and Iblis exploded in such a rage that Dark could only cower and move towards the middle without so much as a feeble stutter, wondering what he must have done to anger him so much, as all he did was move towards the edge...

Then came the hurtful words. Dark had to listen of how he was "second made", "last place", and "useless", as Iblis could survive well enough without him, but Dark relied on Iblis for guidance.

He simply went along with it, hoping it would stop.

It never did.

When they were forcibly split apart, Dark had been left behind, unable to sort what had happened and what was going on, stunned and dazed from the ordeal.

Then a hedgehog, a small brown one, happened to be shuffling by, completely out of place from the scene, perhaps an escaped lab animal in the facility. His small shadow brushed against him, and Dark took his chance to latch on him, needing to exist as something's shadow to survive.

And without a second thought, he fled, trying to escape the destroyed lab and red marked black hedgehog (not at all like the one he just met) that pursued him.

We all know the rest of the story at that point.

It was then filled with "What ifs". Simple changes in the events as if that would have made the outcome much better.

What if he caught on sooner?

What if he had been the first to go?

What if the Solaris Project succeeded?

What if they were never split?

What if Shadow hadn't noticed him?

What if Mephiles hadn't been there?

What if Mephiles had stayed in the cage?

What if Dark had been trapped in the Scepter alone?

* * *

At some point in the night, Dark had simply exhausted himself and passed out, curling up at the bottom of the containment cell as if everything was normal.

Deciding that he had adequate time to cool down (and because the egg shaped human was on his last nerve already), he had Dark moved back to his normal cell. Dark hardly woke up, so all went well for transport, as all he did was stare aimlessly and closed his eyes again, perhaps not even aware that he did that.

He was left on the bed of the cell, which he quickly curled up on his side, adopting the same position he normally does while sleeping. Leaving little to no vulnerable places (such as exposed neck, chest or stomach, for example), which was an instinct he had hardwired into his brain.

As nice as it would be to say that he was able to escape all the bad right now, unfortunately, this was not the case. He was not being plagued directly, but he reached REM, and drifted into a dream. It wasn't a pleasant one, sadly.

Lifting his head slightly to bury his snout in the pillow, Dark whimpered weakly about who knows what, his slightly matted fur and thin quills bristling from his silent fear.

The otherwise empty cell flickered dimly with a soft glow before something identical took form.

_Did I really hurt him that bad..?_

Cautiously observing, the twin took notice of every little detail that seemed jarring about Dark.

The thin and barely noticeable furless lines that were along his arms, from when he held them up to shield himself from being clawed...

Mismatched in thickness in his quill clumps, which he knew for a fact that Dark had an unusual nervous habit of removing a few by himself for no reason other than to hold it in his mouth while thinking...

His body's scrawny appearance from refusal to eat much gave the illusion that he was thinner than he was to begin, which wasn't too far of a stretch of the imagination...

The fur on his side that had been slashed before just didn't seem to grow right and blend in with the rest of the fur as it should have...

A more recent injury compared to the rest was somewhat visible on his arm, and that made the other feel even more guilty.

Dark's continual manic denial of his existence had grown increasingly irksome by that time, and before he could stop himself, he lashed out in a desperate attempt to gain his full attention. Instead, all he accomplished was terrifying Dark even more, and adding to the list of injuries he had caused him.

And still... Dark had refused to believe he was really there. He seemed to have dismissed it as somehow his own fault and refused to explain it to the hedgehog, and even protested bringing the incident to further attention of others.

Or maybe he truly did think he had gone completely insane...

Dark even seemed to work into the habit of removing any trace of relationship between them when casually referring to him. No longer did he use the term "Brother" when speaking of or to him, and even went as far as "Horrible Fire Monster" with a detectible trace of resentment laced in. Where as Mephiles had been given "My Brother" and even a short nickname or two, as well as odd terms of endearment that would have otherwise been namecalling.

Dark settled and opened his eyes slightly, causing Iblis to freeze as he stared at him. Dark could easily freak out right now, which was something that wasn't needed.

Luckily, he just fell back asleep, to which Iblis heaved a silent sigh of relief. Dodged that bullet, it seemed.

"_... Why won't you just go away..?_"

Iblis flinched and spun around with wide eyes to find Dark still laying on his side, but now staring at him with disinterested, half open eyes.

"_Look, I didn't mean to-_" Iblis started trying to explain, but Dark didn't seem to want to hear him.

"_You're obviously not really there..._" Dark "explained" in a bored sounding voice. "_... I know that because you only show up when I'm alone... And you act nothing like him..._" Grabbing the pillow that was under his head and pulling it out from under and over his eyes, he added: "_Just go away... I don't care anymore... I'm being tormented enough as it is._"

Biting back the urge to do something drastic to get his attention, Iblis considered a different tactic as he exhaled slowly, half closing his eyes.

"_Surely you don't wish to be left alone with whatever's bothering you..?_"

"_No. Now go away._"

"_You're being childish..._" Iblis huffed in annoyance, trying to not let himself get so irked by this. "_All I'm saying is-What are you doing..?_" He trailed off when Dark sat up, snatched the large water bottle off the side table, unscrewed the lid and got up calmly to pour it in an arch shaped puddle around Iblis, who shouted in shock and jumped back against the wall as Dark made a barrier with the puddle. "_Watch it!_"

Something sparked behind Dark's eyes and his mouth twisted into a smirk at this.

"_What? Scared?_"

"_Water can dampen my fire for hours! Get that away from me!_"

"_Oh, really..?_" Dark snorted, adding to the puddle with another tip of the bottle. "_I suppose you feel helpless, now..? Backed into a corner and unable to move? All alone?_"

"_I get the point. Stop it._"

"_Do you now? Do you _really?" Dark scoffed, pouring some water on his hand to shake it off, sending droplets in all directions as Iblis flinched. "_This is really mild compared to what I got... I'm improvising, though, but it seems to be working._"

"_I don't get it! You say you don't think I'm here, yet you seem content with-!_"

"_I don't care anymore._" The smirk split into a toothy grin, Dark's half closed eyes widening a fraction as his pupils rounded, ears perking forward as he held the bottle over the other's head. "_As far as I can see right now, I've got nothing to lose. I'm just a flea, right? Everything will just go on without me, right? Second made, last place, too slow! Always too slow! Dark always loses because he wasn't made first!_"

Iblis wasn't really scared right now, but rather cautious about the bottle of over his head. He was more concerned about Dark's behavior, as he had never seen him lapse like that before, mainly because Dark was almost always terrified and intimidated by him. Was this really the internal state he had left him in..?

A bit of water was poured on his head, hissing as it evaporated as Iblis inhaled sharply through his teeth, finding that to have stung a bit, but not really hurt. He fought with himself, trying hard not to snap and catch Dark by the jaw and slam his head into the wall to make him stop. That would accomplish nothing good, and would further hurt him.

"_Why don't you fight back? Surely I can't be too much for you, since you had no problem breaking my skull, or pulling my shoulder out of place, or tearing me apart!_" Dark growled, folding his ears back as he bared his teeth. "_Giving me nightmares! Trying to take away any and everything I show fondness for! Draining away my powers! Trying to smother me! I could go on and on and on!_"

"_Enough!_" Iblis finally barked, slapping the water bottle out of his hand, causing it to hit the wall and drop to the floor, pouring at least half of it out onto the wet floor as it lay on its side.

Dark's eyes widened in surprise as he tried to comprehend an explanation as to how it must have left his hands like that, as he was still certain Iblis wasn't really there.

In the three seconds it took for it to register to Dark that the bottle was now on the floor, Iblis waited cautiously, not sure what Dark was going to do next.

"_Oh... I... I must have dropped it... On a wall... St-stranger things have happened..._" Dark dismissed, giggling in a higher pitched tone than normal, seemingly satisfied with the conclusion.

Then his half closed eyes went completely blank, void of any emotion in particular. His arms dropped limply to his sides as he started to lean towards the wall.

Unsure of what was going on with him, Iblis cautiously reached a hand under Dark's head to lift it and examine him, not knowing what else to do for him. Dark's eyes were dull, glassy and unfocused, the darkness under them contrasting sharply with the pale cream fur on his face.

While turning his head slightly to get a better look at what appeared to be a bruise, Iblis witnessed a brittle crystal tipped quill snapping off from hardly much force and falling to the floor, leaving a broken nub in a shaft from the outside of the bottom right quill clump on Dark's head. It was quite noticeable.

_It's like he's falling apart in both the physical and mental aspect..._ Iblis cringed. _He really needs that hedgehog... His mind and body can't adapt to being separated from him for as long as it's been now... It's like he's suffering from some kind of withdrawal._

He was about to let go of him, but Dark suddenly collapsed completely. Reacting fast enough to prevent him from striking his head on the wall, knowing that was the last thing he needed, he half dragged the unresponsive other away from the puddle of water, ignoring the stinging his feet felt when he had to walk through it.

At some point during it, Dark was aware in the slightest sense what was going on. Feeling inexplicably weakened, all he could do was mumble a feeble protest as he shuddered, possibly from weakness.

* * *

This feels incomplete...

I'm so tapped for ideas for this chapter now... I need to get another chapter time jump start... _

So, yeah. Water bottles.

Holy crud... Mephy's not in this chapter! That's a first! 


	28. Sad chapter written on an iPod

"Metal? If you can hear me, move your left hand..."

Dr. Eggman was relieved to see a response, as said hand twitched and curled a bit.

"Good, then that means it's been reconnected properly." The Human moved his goggles back to the top of his head and swiped his dark lensed glasses off the instrument table and put them on before any of the surrounding robots could see his eyes. "Now, before we do anything else, I need you to just nod or shake your head for these questions, understand?"

Confused as to why that was, Metal Sonic simply nodded as he sat up on the repair table, and quickly examined his reattached arm, making sure it was still as articulate as before.

"Alright. Do you recall what happened after you brought that hedgehog in here after he Spindashed into the walls of his cell?"

Shake.

"You were attacked and dismantled, but I stopped him with the collar and have been repiecing you all night." Eggman made a note on a clipboard which had a form he filled out for taking note of damaged bots so he could reassess the problems and repair them more orderly. Each bot had a specific set of premade forms tailored to each function and need, which made it even easier. "Are there any problems with the LCD display, such as over-saturation in colors, fuzziness, or black and white images instead of color?"

Shake.

"Good. Is it still 1080p?"

Nod.

"Good, we need you to be able to see at highest clarity. Any internal cooling problems? Nothing is heating up, right?"

There was an awkward pause, as the wording of that last question made it very difficult to answer, akin to double negative.

"Let me rephrase that... Everything is staying at a constant safe temperature for the hardware?" The Doctor tried again.

Nod.

"Alright. I'm going to toss this pen, and you need to catch it before it hits the ground, preferably before starts to arch down." Eggman said, shifting his grip on the pen. "This is to test your reflexes and response time. I'm not going to say when I'll toss it, so you need to be alert. Okay?"

Nod.

"Good. Now, show with your hands, what does X equal in this equation?" Eggman held up a separate regular sized piece of paper that was filled from top to bottom with various numbers, letters, symbols and fractions, all as one massive math problem in twelve point font times new roman.

Metal took it, looked at it for about two seconds, handed it back and held up his hand with his middle, index and thumb extended. Three.

"And Y?"

Five.

"Wonderful." Eggman seemed very pleased at that. "Now-"

He tossed the pen.

Metal caught it without flinching, and did so without moving anything but his arm.

"Seems to be on par with what's normal." Eggman took the pen back and made another note. "Now, this is very important, what I'm about to say. You're probably wondering why I've asked you to answer with you head and hands?"

Nod.

"When you were attacked, that hedgehog managed to break your vocal processor. I don't have a replacement compatible in your voice tone, and I'm sure you don't want to sound like those giggling obstacles I left as traps for Sonic, so until I can obtain one..." Eggman explained as Metal's ocular display rounded into circles and brightened out of shock. "You'll have to be mute. However!" He added as if this was a brilliant idea. "I've upgraded your display to be able to show numerous variations in expressions such as more eye shapes and emoticons so you can still communicate as much of a degree as possible! Isn't that great?"

Something resembling two tiny skull and crossbones flashed across where Metal's "irises and pupils" were as the hedge-bot folded his arms.

"If you want, I can even get you a notepad and set of pencils to write out more complex things."

Metal's display showed a scrunched eyed expression.

* * *

"Oh God! Why did I agree to go out here!" Mephiles shrieked, clinging tightly to the fox as they both tried to keep the floating crate from capsizing.

"The whole 'hoping to get an image of you relayed to Dark' thing?" Tails reminded him, starting to lose feeling in his arm but refused to pry him of because he knew Mephiles was terrified of the water they were floating in, as well as the waterfall next to them, the mist soaking their fur. "If you weren't sensitive to flight motion, I could have carried you across..."

"I can hover, actually, so I won't get sick if it's not too high up..." Mephiles looked back at him with wide eyes.

"Then why haven't you done that yet?"

"I can't do it if I'm scared!" Mephiles howled, trying to shift his weight on the crate. "Just about every one of my powers are emotion linked! Some work better some ways, and others go berserk if there's too much!"

Almost as soon as he said that, his Aura sparked into view and sent a violet charge of energy at a nearby Evil Flower, which had been sending orbs akin to Mephiles' their way, trying to knock them into the water. This had been the twelfth time Mephiles inadvertently sent out a spark attack at the mutant plant, and the fifth time it had not been canceled out by the orbs in midair. The spark hit the radioactive looking dandelion monster and it shuddered, puffed out all it's air in it, and shriveled up before exploding in a flurry of purple and blue orbs and puff clouds, which faded from sight.

"See! I don't even know what I did!" Mephiles screeched.

"Okay, listen... We're going to jump to the next crate. I'll go first-" Tails said, having seen a way out of this mess. "So that I can grab and catch you if you can't jump far enough. We'll do that for the next three crates after that, and paddle the last one towards the platform and climb up on it. Then there's a pole that can be used like a slingshot thing that looks like it's aimed and will fire us over to the gate over there, and I can see a switch. Got that?"

Mephiles stared at him blankly for a few seconds.

"What in the what now?" Mephiles asked, not seeing how that would all work. "We're going to do what with a slingshot? How do we know it won't fling us in the water?"

"Because I saw Sonic use one like it a few times already. Trust me."

Before Mephiles could point out everything wrong with the plan, another voice cut across him.

"Oh, there you guys are!" Chip fluttered over to them quickly. "Sonic wanted to know if you we're alright, since we kinda went ahead because the switch was a time lock one, and we can hear the Phoenix not too far away..."

"I'm standing on a crate in water! Do I look okay!" Mephiles shouted, throwing his head back so he wasn't looking at the water around him. "And I'm very sure this isn't chest deep! I saw a robot get swallowed in darkness when it fell in!"

Chip looked at them, then the area before saying: "What if you two jump on that crate... Then those other three... Use the last one like a raft to get to the platform... Use the flingy thing to get to the gate, and flip the switch?"

Tails looked at Mephiles with a half closed eye expression.

"See?"

* * *

All he did was look away for, at most, five minutes to contemplate. Dark had been curled up on the bed, seemingly out of it, but now... Dark wasn't there.

_He can't have gotten out, or disappeared..._ Iblis frowned to himself slightly. _The only place he could be is under the bed..._

The moment he looked, however, a mouse lunged out from under there at him and bit him in the nose. Hard.

Any Mobian creature, and even the ones using Mobian as a base form, has a lot of sensitive nerves in their noses, especially the ones that were burrowing mammals. Any forceful trauma to the nose results in a horrifically painful experience in which the nerves all but scream audibly with the owner of the olfactory organ.

Crying out angrily in pain, Iblis pried the tiny squeaking rodent off forcefully and flung it at the wall over his shoulder, hoping to at least stun the little beast as he held a hand to his injured nose, cursing the mouse and continuing with what he had started to do.

Then something occurred to him. That mouse was two shades of blue, from what he could recall in the very brief attack.

Feeling what might have been the first time for his blood to run cold, he slowly turned his head in dread, and felt himself grow absolutely sickened at what he had done.

The mouse was indeed two shades of blue, one shade dark for the body, the other almost sky blue on the paws and scaly tail. Pale cream on the muzzle, white on the chest, and half open eyes a bright green. One ear was torn from a long time ago. And it was rather thin with unkempt thinned fur and a mat or two, which was strand for a mouse of any kind.

The mouse stumbled and staggered sideways trying to regain it's bearings, no doubt dizzy and disoriented from it's fall. It shook it's head, and lifted it up and down in a bobbing motion, steadily leaning back before toppling on it's back, kicking it's arms and legs for a moment as if to try and right itself.

Then, aside from it's little heart beating visibly in it's rising and falling chest from panting, it stopped flailing and laid still, with it's paws tucked to it's chest and it's feet curled slightly, head held back and mouth open with it's tongue hanging out slightly. After that, it was surrounded by a dark purple puff of vapors which grew larger, obscuring it from view. When it cleared, Dark was laying on his back much in the same way the rodent had been, dazed and half conscious.

Remarkably, there was no visible injury or mark on him, as if the tiny frame of the mouse body had absorbed the impact, and simply left him quite sore all over, but still able to properly use his limbs once he came to.

In any case, Iblis was relieved that he hadn't chosen to squeeze his hand around the attacking rodent with full force in a pain filled rage, which would have left the outcome much, MUCH worse than simply having Dark out cold for an indeterminable amount of time, and waking up feeling like he fell off a ladder onto grass covered dirt without breaking a thing.

_What did he think he was going to accomplish by doing that!_ Iblis held a hand to his nose, pinching it and pretty sure the small teeth had broken the rough black skin on it. _He's lucky I didn't end up crushing him, the-_ He stop abruptly in thought, aware that he almost did do that. _Why does he keep getting hurt around me...?_

A snuffling sound entered the air, and he looked at Dark, who snorted and rolled over on his front, pushing up from the ground and shook his head, reaching a hand to it.

"_... I must have hit the wall..._" He muttered, as if explaining to himself. "_Stupid me..._"

"_Actually, I threw you into it..._" Iblis said in a small voice, knowing Dark wouldn't listen.

"_Of course you did..._" Dark laughed as he sat on the ground, an action which didn't fit into this scene too well. Iblis' fur actually bristled a bit.

"_I did! You jumped at me, and I just reacted!_" Iblis didn't know why he was trying to explain to him. Dark didn't even believe he was there at the moment, so anything he told him really had no meaning. It was as if there was no Dark here as well.

Dark just looked at him before biting down on his lower lip, stifling yet another laugh, failing miserably at hiding the grin that was trying to spread. Finally, he threw his head back and roared with laughter, making Iblis cringe.

"_Oh, stop._" Dark snickered, eyes half closed and teeth bared with a wide smirk. "_Convenient to be trying to reconcile now... I say it's just a trick from Dire..._"

Iblis blinked. Dire? Isn't that the name of the creature that's tormenting Dark? Was this little beast really so bad that Dark wasn't even cautious around Iblis, real or otherwise? So bad that it was driving Dark further into insanity, and making him fall apart so badly.

His blood boiled at the thought of that, but he remained otherwise stoic, narrowing his eyes. If only he could do something...

Dark suddenly widened his eyes and scooted away from him, shuddering just slightly. Something had caused Dark to back away, and quickly Iblis realized he had given "The Look"... That one when he was deeply enraged, but calm on the outside, with only his eyes giving away the inner fury.

Real or no, it was a look that made Dark run for cover. The last time he had seen that look was shortly after nicking Iblis with his quills in a rather impressive Spindash attack, with Iblis stating calmly "_Okay..._Now_ I'm going to kill you..._"

Dark squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away, holding his arms up over his head, cowering from habit.

Without thinking, Iblis clenched his hands and stomped once to get his attention as he barked angrily: "_Stop being afraid of me!_" which only succeeded in making Dark squeak in fright.

About ten seconds later, Iblis blinked, realizing that tactic wasn't working. At all.

Exhaling slowly through his nose, Iblis tried to think of what Mephiles did to calm Dark down. Not yell at him, that was for sure...

Thinking of what he'd observed while watching them, he realized none of it was anything that was easy for him, or it was quite awkward for him to do.

Feeling his face heat up more than usual, actually flushing (he was sure it was enough heat to fry an egg, given that his higher temperature was due to being a flame), he inhaled deeply and moved closer, bringing himself to be level with Dark, who watched him from behind his arm barrier.

Then, while squeezing his eyes shut and holding his ears back, knowing that he was going to either mess this up or do it wrong, Iblis lunged forward, arms wrapping around him awkwardly, and pulling him away from the wall.

Dark shrieked in fright, not sure of what was happening, as this had never happened before. His arms were pinned and he couldn't do anything other than butt his head, which he tried, but couldn't move enough to make it effective.

"_Shut up. I'm h... h-hugging you._" Iblis actually gagged at the word, as if it had never been used before and the concept left him feeling very weird and bizarre, almost alien. He took a deep breath and tried again. "_I'm hugging you. You need it._"

"_No! Mephy! Only Mephy!_" Dark cried out, squirming and writhing as much as he could to get loose. "_Let me go! Get away from me or-!_"

"_Or what? I thought you said I wasn't here..._" Iblis responses in a much more level tone than Dark was. "_How do you explain this if I'm just a hallucination..?_"

"_A sudden misfire of neural pathways resulting in temporary paralysis in select regions of the body!_" Dark shouted, still trying to pull away.

"_Now, if you're really as crazy as you say you are..._" Iblis raised his eyebrows a bit. "_Then how can diagnose the cause that you think it is?_"

"_I'm not stupid! Just crazy!_" Dark screeched, freeing an arm and wedging it between them as he tried to pry free. "_I know you're not here! He'd never-! He would never-! Iblis doesn't-! He-! He-! He'd-!_" Dark sputtered and stammered, unable to voice it. He was getting hysterical and was visibly distressed, shaking and nearly in tears from fright and discomfort, as this was just so unnerving and almost disturbing to him. "_Why won't you just go away!_"

"_Dark, just calm down..._" Iblis was a bit worried at how much he could hear Dark's heart beating so rapidly and loudly without pause. "_You're already always on edge... You'll give yourself a heart attack if you keep this up..._"

"_What do you care? You're not real!_" Dark barked, bearing his teeth. "_I don't really see what the problem is. Mephy's gone! Everything is gone! I'm losing my mind again! I won't belong anywhere! Who cares if-?_"

"_Why are you so sure that hedgehog is gone?_" Iblis asked, trying not to show how much Dark's words had unnerved him. "_He's lived through worse, hasn't he?_"

"_No one knows we were there! And where he was left isn't easy to see behind!_" The fierce look in Dark's face faltered and he blinked. "_... It was my fault he got hurt... And it's my fault he was left where he was... If I hadn't pulled him into that alley, he wouldn't have been hurt..._"

"_How did that happen, if you don't mind me asking..?_"

Dark looked up and frowned, looking fierce again.

"_I_ do_ mind you asking..._" He growled.

"_Fair enough, given what I've done..._" Iblis exhaled slowly, raising his ears up a bit. "_But unless you did something to him yourself, which I know you wouldn't dream of doing in your right mind, it's not your fault._"

"_I hid, like I always do in danger... And he ended up getting whacked in the head and thrown into a brick wall trying to protect me..._" Dark muttered, slowly giving up on trying to push him back, since it wasn't working. "_... That horrible crunching sound when he hit it... all that blood... And... And I c-couldn't... He wasn't waking up..._" Dark was suddenly very stiff, as if the thought of it shocked him to his core as he looked at the floor. "_... He opened his eyes, but I don't think he could see me... The last thing I said to him b-before he was hurt was 'you idiot'... I'm so horrible..._"

"_Dark, I really don't thi-_"

"_I think I know why you always tried to take everything away from me when I just started to like it..._" Dark said suddenly, looking up with a small, unsettling smile. "_Because if it's taken away too late, it always hurts more and makes you into a mess... Emotions are such a waste of time..._"

Iblis fought back the urge to knock sense into him, as it would really accomplish nothing. All he could do was try and listen to him, and hopefully talk him back on track.

"_For example..._" Dark continued, tongue between his teeth as he grinned slightly, eyes half closed. "_Anger raises your blood pressure and eats away at your health... Fear sends you into a blind panic, clouding proper judgement... Despair's only purpose is to let you wallow in pity... Love makes it harder on you to lose something... Jealously corrupts well meaning actions when starved for attention... Loneliness is there because you can't have companionship, be it at that moment, or your pathetic existence... Hate exists only to hurt... And happiness is a sneaky little thing... Always shifting into others in a blink of an eye, never staying as long as you truly want..._" Dark snorted, shaking his head. "_It's a waste to learn, when some of us are destined to be alone and locked away to rot like the abominations we are..._"

Iblis raised a hand to smack his face anyway, which Dark eyed with indifference.

"_Go ahead... Hurt me. That's all you ever did..._" He shrugged. "_I don't know any better... You did this to me..._"

Iblis froze, stunned at what he said.

Did he really cause Dark to be so morbid? He never meant to, but he was so disillusioned in his mental instability from the experiments that he believed that he was helping Dark to survive in what he perceived as a harsh world beyond the environment they had as Solaris.

Dark had been so compliant with everything that pushed and pulled them every which way, never once resisting, that Iblis believed that Dark simply lacked backbone, and he was trying to make him tough by not babying him.

At least, that's how it started out as before the corruption set in...

_Brother, I learned something new today!_

Iblis lifted his head up quickly, looking around in confusion. Where did that come from..? His ears were starting to itch as another one sounded off.

_Brother, do you ever wonder what's out there..?_

He shoved Dark away and stuffed his fingers in his ears, trying to block it out, but it didn't work.

_I love being a shadow, Brother! Everything has one, and a shadow can be anything it wants! How wonderful is that?_

He was now grabbing and pulling at his ears, trying to make it stop. Dark watched with indifference, unaware what was going on.

_But I'd rather be a flame's shadow... Because even if it's dark, you can still see me, Brother! Ha ha ha!_

He clawed at his ears now, desperate to make it go away. He knew it wasn't going to be long before the happy and giggly tones changed.

_That's odd, Brother... Do you feel that..? I think it's... Eleck... Electricy... Electricity. It's another element, I think..._

Iblis grunted, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head slowly.

_... Did I do something wrong, Brother..? I didn't mean to anger you..._

Iblis was now pleading with himself silently to make it stop.

_I'm sorry, Brother! I-I was just curious! I know you don't want me near the Edge, but I wanted to see why!_

He could hear the blood rushing in his ears between pauses, wishing it was the only thing he heard.

_Brother! Please! I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you mad! I've been trying to make you happy again! You're never happy anymore, and I-I miss that!_

The tones had started to sound choked, as if Dark was really upset.

_Brother! Don't go! Please! I'm sorry! Don't leave me! I don't want to be alone! Please! I'll do what you say! I'll stay away from the Edge! Whatever you want! I won't mess up again! One more chance, please! Brother! Don't leave me!_

He could remember the time of that one clearly. Dark had gone to the Edge again, determined to find out what it was about it that was making Iblis so aggressive. Iblis reacted even worse than before, and threatened to leave Dark behind in the darkness to where he would have no form at all and be alone, which was something Dark was very much afraid of at the time.

Dark begged and pleaded for him to not do that, frighting back tears in his voice, as showing it would be considered weakness, which was another thing that set Iblis off.

Iblis finally agreed that he wouldn't that time, and Dark quickly showed his gratitude by moving to the center, shutting up and moving in a circle, so that he wasn't sitting around, wasn't near the Edge and wasn't blathering on and on about things like usual.

The next day... Iblis caused the Soleanna Disaster, and ended up leaving him anyway.

For ten years. Long enough to almost leave his mind.

The remainder of the words echoed dully in his brain as Iblis finally pulled his hands away from his sore ears. Dark was still watching without much interest as Iblis stared blankly ahead, his eyes burning. He felt as if he might have suddenly come down with the flu or something, because it was getting very hard to breathe without gasping.

He looked at Dark, who looked back boredly.

"_... I'm sorry..._" Iblis managed, wondering if Dark even understood him. "_... Dark... Little Brother... I... I'm sorry I left you... And I'm sorry for ever hurting you... I was the one that was wrong, not you..._"

Dark continued to look at him before getting up and stepping over to the bed, flopping down on his side and turning his back to him...

But not before saying something that finally brought Iblis to tears, leaving him to weep quietly on the floor at his mistake... at how he had truly broken something that began as innocent and pure as something that had been born on this planet...

"_Ten years too late... I don't hate you... I just don't care about anything anymore..._"


	29. Dopi is iPod backwards

Mephiles was on the ground, cowering at the strange ape-like bristle-backed blade-nosed neon monster that loomed over him. It looked about ready to attack him, as it had already knocked him on his back when the hedgehog tried to slip passed unnoticed. In fact, the creature had already been trying to attack him, but Mephiles was making his bubble shield to protect himself, shuddering as the impacts vibrated through the Aura dome and his body.

He didn't know how much longer he could keep it up, because it required a lot of energy to make and maintain, and he could see it falter and weaken in some places, and he was starting to feel lightheaded and shaky.

Suddenly, the monster lurched sideways as red and white shoes collided with it's face, the yellow-orange fox having propelled himself into it with his tails boosted flight just as Mephiles' shield fizzled out.

Tails jumped off the creature and hovered in the air for a moment to gloat at his self earned victory, then touched down next to Mephiles, who was gasping and panting from both fright and overexertion.

"You okay?"

"... N-never used my s-shield th-that long..." The hedgehog wheezed, trying to sit up, but was trembling considerably. "... T-too much f-focus... Not exp-perienced enough t-to do th-that long..."

Tails tried to help him to his feet, but Mephiles couldn't stand for very long, as he was just too exhausted from his defending move.

"... S-sorry... I c-can rec-cover quickly... But it st-still takes t-time..." Mephiles muttered an apology, pale face blushing in embarrassment. "... Th-thank you, by th-the way..."

"No problem. You obviously needed help." Tails said, waiting for him to be able to at least support his own weight. "... How much do you weigh? I can carry Sonic, so maybe I can carry you until you can move?"

"... Last I ch-checked... Sixty-s-seven p-pounds..."

"... You're about ten pounds lighter than Sonic." Tails said, raising his eyebrows. "... Are you sure? You're almost as tall as him, are you supposed to be that light?"

Mephiles nodded slowly, cracking a small smile of amusement.

"... I g-get that a lot..." The hedgehog explained in a stutter. "... But I have a f-fast m-metabolism... Th-that's my average weight..."

He inhaled deeply, trying to catch his breath. He felt as if he had been running laps nonstop for a quarter of an hour, right down to the sweat coating his skin, the air against it making him shiver.

"... I'll b-be f-fine in a half hour..." He added, looking up wearily.

"Well, we can't take too long... I don't know if Sonic needs help or something..." Tails nodded and reached for his arm. "Here, I'll carry you on my back if I need to... We'll move faster that way..."

"... Won't th-that make it hard t-to use your t-tails..?"

"I don't think we need to fly or anything right now... I think we've passed most of the platforms and grappling..." The fox explained, helping the tired hedgehog onto his back. Mephiles was quick to cling, as if he had done this thing many times before. "... I don't know if any more of those monsters are going to show up here, so we should keep moving."

Mephiles grunted softly in agreement, sighing and resting his head on the fox's shoulder.

"You gonna be alright?"

"... Very likely... I j-just fall asleep if I wear my-s-self out or s-something..." Mephiles mumbled, trying not to yawn. "... Th-that's not a p-problem... Is it..? Sh-shadow and Rouge think I have n-narcolepsy... I might... B-but we've never t-tested for it yet..."

Tails was about to ask further, but his ears twitched at a light snore. Had the hedgehog already fallen asleep..?

"... You still awake..?"

No answer other than a late mumble, and a shifting of grip.

Tails groaned in annoyance, and decided that he should start heading in Sonic's direction anyway.

* * *

Iblis stayed in a state of mute shock for a while.

Dark didn't care about _any_thing anymore? Was he really that convinced that the hedgehog was no longer alive and that he would never be able to escape... And if he did get free, was he so sure he had nowhere to go..?

It all seemed to bank on the whereabouts of Mephiles. If the hedgehog was near him, Dark was easily calmed down. If he had to spend any amount of time away from him, he grew steadily reclusive and withdrawn. Dark seemed to rest easier when Mephiles was close, and was more willing for help and treatment if the hedgehog was the one encouraging him. And only the hedgehog.

It had been two days since Dark realized that "Shu" didn't exist at all, but was merely an alias that Iblis took on, because Dark seemed more willing to pay mind to him that way. It had also been two days since Dark had last consumed anything solid or liquid, much to the concern of both the flame and the captor.

Knowing that he could not be seen by the Human, Iblis listened as Dark had been informed that if he continued refusal, drastic measures would have to be taken to attempt to reverse starvation and dehydration, such as an IV drip.

Dark's only response was simply staring at him, scoffing and saying the Human was sadistic for prolonging his suffering before curling up on his side miserably.

Regardless, Dark was given twelve hours to attempt to eat and/or drink what was left out on the side table before an intervention was to take place. He didn't care.

Once they were alone again, Iblis finally spoke for the first time in hours.

"_You really should try to..._" He said in a low voice, unsure of how to sound encouraging. He took a deep breath and added: "_If you don't, you'll probably get really sick and even die..._"

"_... So..?_" Dark sat up, looking disinterested.

"_... I'm sure Mephil-_"

He didn't finish because he was struck hard across the face. Dark had done so, and despite being underweight, frail looking, mangy and an otherwise mess... The shadow still managed to look livid beyond all reason.

"_How dare you?_" Dark growled deeply, thinned fur and quills bristling as best they could. His tone rose steadily in fury. "_How dare you try to drag him into this! I don't care if you're real or not! But I will NOT allow his name to be spoken by such a horrible, foul, evil, heartless monster!_"

Staring in the direction he had been slapped into facing, stunned to a degree, which really showed in his wide eyes, Iblis didn't answer.

Perhaps it was because he was so shocked at what Dark had done... The shadow had NEVER stood up to him like that before.

Panting and gasping in rage, Dark raised his hand again, ready to backhand him this time around. Iblis jolted back into awareness and caught his wrist inches from his face.

"_I don't know what's gotten into you..._" The flame said in a low, warning voice, narrowing his eyes. "_But beating the snot out of me isn't going to fix anything, you spoiled brat._"

"_Oh! So, now I'm a brat!_" Dark laughed mockingly. "_Last I checked, spoiled brats are selfish little blighters that have had everything handed to them without work! I got nothing! My work always goes up in flames! If being overprotective of ONE little stupid hedgehog makes me a rotten child, then by all means, beat me with a stick!_"

Groaning in frustration at Dark's outbursts, Iblis let his wrist go and rubbed at his own temples at this. It had to be that Dire creature that was doing this... Yes, Dark was often sour about something, but not to this extreme.

"_... Be reasonable... I was merely commenting on your recklessness..._" Iblis shook his head once he removed his fingers. "_That being said, I didn't realize mentioning the hedgehog would infuriate you so much..._"

"_Because he did a much better job at being a brother than you!_" Dark snapped, baring his teeth. "_You don't deserve to say anything about him to me!_"

"_For someone who said that he doesn't hate me..._" Iblis shot back. "_I'm still sensing a lot of hostility and resentment here!_"

"_You honestly expect me to just forget it!_" Dark narrowed his eyes more. "_After all that time in the Scepter before my mind broke, wondering why you left me behind?_"

"_I've already admitted I was wrong..._" Iblis growled, growing tired of Dark's refusal to let it drop for now. "_I know I messed up and all that, but I'm not the reason you got caught and trapped. In case you've forgotten, I was caught and trapped, too._" Iblis reminded in a low tone. "_If you had stopped trying to hide, and actually did something about it, you might have not-_"

"_I only got caught because I was looking for you!_" Dark cut across him sharply, rendering the flame temporarily mute. Dark managed to stop yelling for the first time in five minutes. "_I had glimpse a layout of the place and knew the way out, but hearing how much Mephy was concerned about his family being left behind dawned on me that you might have been in trouble too... I only got caught because I _didn't_ hide that time. But, considering how I got treated both before and after... I should have just ran... You said you could do better without me anyway..._"

Iblis didn't realize that had been a possibility. Despite all he did to him before they were split, Dark had still wanted to find him and risked certain capture to do so.

"_I suppose the real tragic part isn't that I got caught..._" Dark added, scoffing a bit while shaking his head with an unsettling small smile. "_But that you'll never know that, since I'm really just conversing with a visual and auditory hallucination..._"

Pause.

"_Can't you just pretend so if it makes you feel better..?_" Iblis tried to help a bit.

"_What's the point..?_" Dark shook his head. "_I know it's not real, and trying to make myself think otherwise just shows that I can't face reality... I know it will never happen, so why bother..?_"

Iblis looked over at the plate that had been left behind. A banana and simple sandwich with peanut butter and a fruit spread were on it, obviously for the reason that both items required little effort to chew and had a good amount of healthy stuff in them that might jolt the shadow back into realizing that he was letting himself get sick and needed to fix that. A sealed bottle of bright blue liquid claiming to be some sort of berry flavor said it was a sports drink, and claimed to be more effective than water in rehydration.

Snatching up the fruit, Iblis held it out and said: "_Eat this._"

"_No._" Dark shook his head.

"_I'm not asking you._"

"_Oh, and what are you going to do? Force me?_" Dark said defiantly. "_You can't make me swallow it even if you shoved it in my mouth. I'll just spit it out. I don't want it._"

"_You selfish, stubborn little-!_" Iblis cut himself off and flustered a bit on words before adding: "_What would that hedgehog say if he came here to rescue you and you had yourself on the verge of death?_"

"_Assuming he does show up... If he's still-_"

"_What proof do you have that he's dead?_"

"_What proof otherwise...?_"

"_None. And you?_"

"_Likewise..._"

Iblis huffed in annoyance.

"_But say that he does show up... How would he feel if you had let yourself starve?_"

"_Simple..._" Dark said, not changing expression. "_He's probably burst into tears, blame himself, apologize for taking so long, manage to coax me into eating, and ask me not to do that again... Making me feel like a jerk for having him go through that..._"

"_Alright, then... Do you really want to have that happen?_"

"_No. But I don't feel like eating._" Dark shrugged.

"_How is that even possible?_" Iblis seemed astounded. "_It's been two days since any consumption of solid or liquid... As scrawny as you are, you can't tell me you're not even the slightest bit hungry._"

"_I am not scrawny!_" Dark snapped defensively, folding his ears back and baring his teeth. "_I just look thin because of-!_"

"_You look underweight and frail._" Iblis cut him off. "_Compared to another Mobian hedgehog, you must be at least twenty percent less in weight as opposed to matching it. Your skeletal structure stands out where it shouldn't. Many of your quills are brittle, which they shouldn't be. It's a medical marvel right now that your immune system hasn't been compromised, or you might collapse under something as simple as a cold..._"

Dark didn't respond and simply glared, before folding his arms and turning away.

"_... I've been doing fine so far..._" He said edgily.

"_If by 'fine' you mean 'totally let yourself fall into a state of disarray'... Then yes... I think you've done a wonderful job..._" Iblis pointed out, for once not keeping that sarcastic tone.

Dark paused before responding, in an almost mute way. He just lowered his head and sighed.

"_Look... You don't even have to eat all of it..._" Iblis was actually getting desperate, but showed no trace of it in his voice. "_... Just try at least half. It's been at least two days since you've last eaten..._"

"_... If I do... Will you leave me alone..?_"

"_I can't guarantee that..._" Iblis said truthfully. "_Especially if you keep trying to starve yourself._"

"_... He won't shut up..._" Dark said in a low voice, looking quite weary as he looked over his shoulder. "_... Every attempt I've made to block him out ends with him drilling past with practically no effort... As if he knows how to exploit the chips in my personality..._" Blinking, he looked away again, this time at the ceiling. "_... Normally, such words do not affect me so much, but the way he goes about it... He's figured out how fond I am for Mephy... And keeps pointing out how my foolishness has led to his injuries..._" Still looking at the ceiling, he added: "_Truthfully... I'm the only reason he gets hurt, whether directly or as a result..._"

"_... You really shouldn't be so hard on yourself..._" The flame said, still holding the soft fruit in both hands carefully, trying not to bruise it. "_You seem to overlook how much you've protected him... He would have no place in this timeline in this year if it wasn't for you..._"

"_True... But I ended up taking him away from his family..._" Dark lowered his head.

"_You're willing to let yourself come within an inch of death if it meant he'd escape it._" Iblis added. "_You won't even do that for yourself if you could. You overlook that often..._"

"_... Because I've been conditioned to be a failure..._" Dark said quite plainly. "_... I've never won anything, let alone come close to it by myself..._"

"_Technically speaking... You've won that hedgehog's approval, did you not?_"

"_I really don't have to work hard for that at all..._" Dark lifted his head slightly. "_I could hand him a rock, and he'd be thrilled with me..._"

Without another word, he reached over and took the banana, peeled it with one swift slide of a claw, and bit into it boredly.

After one bite, he said: "_... I'm only eating because I don't fancy the idea of being force fed, which I'm sure will happen eventually if I continue this..._"

"_... Better than starving yourself..._"

There was a pause before Dark added: "_... Keep talking so I don't have to listen to him... Real or not, you're still better than being stuck with Dire..._"

Iblis almost let a small smile show.

"_... I'll try..._"


	30. More iPod

They arrived just as soon as the Phoenix left to perch above the temple entrance.

Tails' heart sank in disappointment as he was quick to apologize to Sonic.

"I'm so sorry for being late, Sonic!" He explained, still toting the sleepy crystal hedgehog on his back. "But we got in a bad spot, and he fell asleep after exhausting himself, and I had to carry him!"

Sonic shrugged it off and wasn't really too concerned over the matter.

"You really didn't miss much." He explained as Chip hovered over to the younger hedgehog curiously, poking him in the face carefully, and only getting a snort as a response. "Threw a few barrels of water and knocked some sense into him, really. I would have rather been pitted against those other creatures, anyway..."

"... Yeah, but I wanted to at least watch you do this one..." Tails grumbled, feeling like he missed the best part.

"I'm sure there'll be a few more before the whole adventure's over." Sonic reassured, seeing that the young fox was bummed out. "Tell me all about your 'bad spot' after Chip and I handle this temple, alright? I'm sure you've got a few impressive moves to tell about."

Immediately, the tangerine colored fox's blue eyes lit up and he adopted a very good imitation of Sonic's well known cocky grin.

"Well... I did manage to curb stomp one of the surly ones..." Tails boasted, looking quite proud of that accomplishment. "He never saw it coming."

Mephiles, who had been asleep for at least a half an hour by this point, woke up about thirty seconds before the activated temple caused another earthquake.

Needless to say, his initial instincts told him to RUN AND HIDE NOW before the shake started, and he almost did without question towards the surrounding bamboo forest, but the fox caught his arm, causing the hedgehog to squeak in some kind of animal chatter that the kit did not understand. Blindly fighting back in fear, it took a moment for Mephiles to calm down and realize that it was simply the piece of the planet falling back into place, like it should.

Embarrassed that he had acted on a feral part of his mind, he mumbled an apology and looked at the ground, trembling slightly from the adrenaline rush.

"Maybe you should work on that..." Tails suggested, certain he had never seen another Mobian freak out like that on account of the Fight or Flight response.

"... Normally, it's not that bad..." Mephiles didn't look up. "... But earthquakes really freak me out..."

_What doesn't..?_ Tails thought to himself sarcastically. He let go of the hedgehog's arm and said out loud: "Well, this is the safest part of the area if it was any kind of danger. There's nothing that would fall on us, and it's kind of like a clearing, except those platforms and the entrance."

"... Hey... If these planet pieces are falling back in place..." Mephiles suddenly realized. "... What happens to the oceans? Wouldn't there be a tsunami or something, because of the earthquakes and all that..?"

"... I actually didn't think of that..." Tails had a wide eyed look on his face. "... I think so, but everything has gone well so far..."

* * *

"Looks like another piece is falling in..." Shadow commented, looking at the screen in front of him. "... Sonic must be making good time on this."

Rouge rolled her swivel chair from her nearby work station to look as well.

"Mephiles mentioned one piece for each Emerald, so this is probably the third one..." She added, observing the satellite image of the planet's current state. "That's almost half now..."

"Man... Desk work days are slow..." Shadow rubbed his temples, leaning back in his chair. "... Who thought I would even be interested in paperwork compared to fieldwork? I'm not a cubicle kind of guy, here..."

"Because you file things the best here." The bat said, smirking with her hands held up in a shrugging motion. "I believe you called it the 'Ultimate Filing System', in fact."

"Would it kill everyone to alphabetize everything within the dates so we can find what we dealt with when?" Shadow looked up, pulling on his lower eyelids a bit. "You guys just throw everything in the box for the day, meaning unless I fix it, there are at least a hundred reports on cases that we have to sift through for that day alone." Then he added: "Better question: why are we still filing papers when we have computers that we could scan them into and organize them there..?"

"Then you'd have to find another silly side job to do..." Rouge teased, earning a grunt from the hedgehog.

Shadow looked over at the box and shouted: "Hey! Topaz! Last I checked, Q comes before R, not G!"

* * *

Dark was pacing the cell feverishly. He seemed even more restless than before, reaching a hand up to his quills and working his fingers through them as he walked back and forth without pause.

His head snapped up at a sound and he looked over to find the blue robot standing against the wall opposite of the cell.

Immediately, Dark's eyes burned with anger at the hedge-bot. His ears swiveled back and he bared his teeth with a low growl.

"_... You're the reason I'm stuck here..._" Dark said in a low voice, moving closer to the clear wall. "_... You're the one who hurt Mephy... If I could only get my hands on you, I'd tear you apart..._"

The hedgehog robot didn't speak, but simply folded his arms and tilted his head back in annoyance to look above him. In his hands was notepad and a thick red pencil, which seemed to have a dull point to the tip, as if having not been sharpened for several hours of use.

The robot then scrawled something on one of the pages and walked over to the cell wall to slam the page against it, pinning it up with one hand for the shadow to read.

_You ripped out my vocal processor. I can't talk, thanks to you..._ said the rather impressive looking print type handwriting.

Dark read it, confusion etching into his features.

"_I did what now..?_" He said, looking genuinely surprised. "_That can't be right... I don't remember that..._"

Metal's optical display screen flashed a half closed eye expression, as if baffled before pulling the notepad away to write something else, slamming it against the clear wall again.

_What do you mean, you "don't remember"? You attacked me and tore me apart. That's what all the scratches on me are from..._

Dark hadn't seen the marred painted surface of the robot before it was pointed out. Bringing his attention to it now, he could see the re-welded indications of reattached part, and the deepish gouges in the metal work that had not been buffed out yet. It was practically the robotic equivalent of traumatic physical scarring, from the looks of it.

"_... When did this happen..? I really don't recall it..._" Dark looked slightly distressed at the thought. It was considered a problem if he was causing damage to things and not even remember what, how, when and/or why he did it. "_... I... I don't... D-did you... Did it... Was it painful..?_" Dark wasn't sure how advanced this robot was, and the possibility of it being able to feel pain seemed a little alarming to him. He didn't like the idea of making something hurt.

Next note: _I wouldn't know... I went offline when you tore my "throat" out... First thing you went after..._

Even in technical terms, this was a bit disturbing to Dark. How animalistic to go for the neck first. Had the hedge-bot been an actual flesh and blood creature, that action would have surely killed him, if not shortly after... suffocating from the injury... Unable to move while silently staring upward... Choking on the oozing bl-

Dark's face paled several shades quickly and he clapped his hands to his mouth as he let a strangled howl of disgust escape him, struggling to keep his composure.

Inhaling deeply and holding his hand up to motion that he was needing a moment to calm down, he gasped harshly as he tried to force the thought away from his mind.

'_Oh, come on! You used to squeal in delight at that kind of stuff! You've really let that hedgehog turn you into a wimp!_' Dire's voice sounded off in his mind, prompting Dark to scream in frustration as he struck his head against the cell wall again.

Metal stared in confusion, wondering what set him off again. He was also wary of trying to stop him, considering his last attempt ended with him getting trashed worse than something in a scrapyard.

Seven more painful sounding strikes happened before Dark was stopped. Or rather, he stopped himself.

Looking up with a bruise starting to form on his forehead, he looked over his shoulder and stared before lowering his head and sighing, sliding to the ground to sit defeatedly.

"_... You're right... How stupid of me..._" He muttered, shaking his head slightly.

Looking at the slumped crystal hedgehog shaped shadow, Metal paused before writing down on his notepad before holding it eye level with Dark, not slamming it to the wall this time.

_Who are you talking to?_

Dark read it and smiled slightly, almost out of place even.

"_The one in my head, or the one I can see that's not you..?_" He said, half closing his eyes.

Another pause. Metal seemed to be staring behind Dark, as if scanning the area. Another note.

_I only see you._

"_Of course._" Dark nodded almost exaggeratedly. "_But mainly because he leaves when I'm not alone. I don't know why. Well, I mean, I do know that it's impossible for someone else to see him... Considering that he's dead. I suppose he's just haunting me..._" Dark explained, tilting his head back with a grin. "_Which makes no sense, since I wasn't the one that killed him. Of course, I'm probably just getting crazy again... I've never really been well adapted for total isolation, so I must thank you for triggering a psychotic break by doing this to me. I'm not enjoying it... But it's better than being alone, since he gives me something to talk to... Even if he's not my first choice of hallucination._"

Metal Sonic didn't write another note, so Dark continued talking.

"_Have I really explained about him to you? I can't remember who I've told what to by now, but I'm quite sure you're in the dark on this..._" He said, staring up at the robot quite intently, as if hoping to hold it's attention more. "_I... Have you... Do you see this scruff spot right here..?_" Dark gestured to his left side, where the fur grew in a way that it didn't lay flat.

A slight tilt of the head from the hedge-bot was his answer, so he continued.

"_There's a reason for that. I wasn't just hit there once, but twice within weeks of each incident. Mephy said that it was so bad the first time that my heart stopped from the blood loss, and I'm sure I was close to it again the second time it happened._" He paused, as if recalling either times clearly for a moment before adding: "_Well, the one I'm seeing is the one who did that to me. He's my older twin brother. And that's not the only thing he did... I could go on and on about each and every bit I endured. He's legitimately the only one I'll instinctively cower from... If you'd seen what he did, you'd know why. He'd make my attack on you look like a bit of kitten roughhousing..._"

Metal brought the pencil to the paper for a moment, but lowered it, as if not even sure how to respond to this properly.

"_... Still nothing? Really?_" Dark gave a slightly annoyed look.

* * *

At some point later, possibly because it was getting late (hard to tell there...), Dark had fallen asleep, leaning sideways against the wall in a somewhat silly way, even drooling slightly.

Figuring his neck was bound to get sore from that, Iblis tried to think of a way to move him without causing a problem. None came to mind, so he decided just to ease him to the ground and slide the pillow under his head. Not exactly the most comfortable place to sleep, but better than spraining his neck, right?

Immediately, Dark curled up on his side, subconsciously ending up in a defensive posture, with all vulnerable places a hedgehog creature would not want attacked protected by denying any access to them...

Curling up and holding his limbs in covered his stomach, neck and chest quite effectively. Tail wrapped close to his body to keep it from being grabbed. Ears flat and plastered against his head to keep them from getting caught. It was a pretty good mimic of an Earth Hedgehog's defensive tactic, Mobian-wise. Iblis wondered if Dark had picked that up from the hedgehog...


	31. I have no name for this

Overwhelming darkness all around. Not a speck of light to see. Too dark to see his hands in front of him.

It's cold, absolutely frigid. His thinned fur provides little protection as he shivered, muscles shaking uncontrollably, breaths ragged and uneven.

He didn't like this feeling. He felt vulnerable at the lack of comforting sensations, left with only chilled darkness and silence, as if he were the only thing left.

Frantically looking around for a sense of direction, half convinced he must be lost, even though he couldn't remember why he was there to begin with, he grew more and more agitated the more and more he could see that everything was the same.

He flicked his head in a certain direction at the sound of whispered tones, shuddering at them. They didn't sound too friendly...

Ears swiveled back and he reversed his steps, trying to get away, but no matter which way he moved, the whispering got angrier. Why? What had he done to make them mad?

Though clever and intelligent beyond his age tenfold, he found himself stripped down to his core as to what he was: a confused, frightened child who wanted nothing more than to get away from the angered tones filling his ears.

They scolded him.

They hissed at him.

They snapped at him.

Yelled at him.

Called him names.

Reminded him of all his failures.

Mocked him.

Every single one. Different voices, different tones, different volumes...

One stood out, and seemed to be taking his side, but the timid voice was being drowned out among the nastier ones, obscuring the words as they all melded together.

He wanted to scream, but he couldn't even breathe properly, gasping harshly as he held his hands to his ears, stuffing his fingers into the canals.

He was getting lightheaded and dizzy, as if everything was tilting and lurching back before tilting again. He was even getting a little nauseated from all this.

The collar around his neck felt almost too snug as he reached up with trembling hands to at least loosen the band. A surge burned his fingers and he quickly gave up, eyes watering from pain, as well as a confusing, frustrating, horrible flurry of emotions he couldn't decipher why.

He whimpered, knowing that he wouldn't be heard, but did so anyway. He was scared, after all...

The cell wall eased into his vision and he stared before realizing that he was laying on his side on the floor, shaking feverishly, despite having a blanket draped over him.

He would have jumped up in reaction to what he just had happened, but he felt too weak and dizzy to even lift his head.

"_... Dark..? Are you awake..?_" Said the other, sounding anxious. Dark didn't respond. "_... You were kind of-Are you okay..?_" His voice sounded uncertain.

Dark shuddered and gripped the blanket tightly, trying to ward off the chill settling in his spine. He was starting to feel just as nauseous as he did in that void even.

"_... Dark..?_" Uncharacteristic concern laced the older one's voice. Dark squeezed his eyes shut as he felt a hand touch to his forehead. "_... You got sick anyway... Not good... Not good at all..._"

"_... I'm f-fine..._" Dark lied in a wheezy voice, betraying himself with a cough. "_... J-just leave me alone..._"

"_Liar._" Iblis snapped. "_You're out of breath, you have a fever and your voice sounds scratchy. Stop lying._"

Dark growled at him, only quietly. Lifting his head with some effort, he propped himself up, bracing his arms to the floor as he glared.

"_I'm fine!_" He barked, looking quite livid, eyes narrowed and intense. "_Now back off before I make you!_"

Against better judgement, Iblis scoffed, not realizing to what extent Dark could do harm when enraged.

"_I highly doubt-_"

**WHAM!**

A flash of white cut off his vision before he knew it, and he was getting gradually aware that he had been knocked off his feet and on the ground, the younger twin pinning him down with his surprisingly effective but thin weight, a hand on each wrist, nose inches from his own as he bared his teeth, exhaling through his nose.

Dark growled dangerously, his quills and fur bristling simultaneously as his claws scraped the surface of the floor while he closed his hands tighter around the wrists.

"_... Dark..?_" Iblis held his own ears back, a bit startled at how quick this all happened, as well as somewhat wary of the look in his eyes.

"_Shut up... Before I make you..._" Dark snarled in a low tone, eyes glinting from a flicker of light.

Iblis stared almost blankly, wondering if he really meant it, or was he simply trying to scare him?

Dark suddenly lifted his head and turned his attention to the side, shrinking back.

"_I said shut up!_" He barked in a demanding voice, clenching his hands into fists. "_All of you! Shut! UP!_"

Iblis took that as a chance to get off the floor, stepping back against a wall. He had never seen Dark like this before, and didn't know what to do or expect.

Dark squeezed his eyes shut and held his head, curling inward as if trying to hide. Shaking, panting, wheezing, and whimpering... It was obvious he was in some sort of distress.

A blackened Aura of some kind began to drip and slide off him, pooling at his feet before gradually spreading. Not just on the floor, but creeping up the walls as well.

Iblis stared at it cautiously, taking note of the oily look it had, with misty dark vapors rising from the substance. Looking up slowly, a bit of it dripped on his head, taking no time in stretching out and trying to adhere to him. Reaching up with both hands to pry it off, he ended up having to rip and tear it away, the sticky goop managing to take a little fur and quills with it as he threw it back into the mass.

Immediately, the shadowy substance rolled forward, backing him towards the bed, which he was quick to scramble onto, watching the mass spill and splash against adjacent wall like a dark stream of toxic sludge. However, it was slowly trying to crawl up the bed frame, and with it coming at all angles, Iblis' safety zone was getting smaller by the second.

Looking up at Dark, who was slumped against the wall with a glazed look in his eyes, Iblis wondered if Dark had lost control over his element. Dark's unfocused eyes were solid black where his irises should have been, as if he had gone into a trance.

Snapping his fingers to spark a small flame, just enough to keep the shadowy mass away for as long as he could, Iblis considered his small set of dwindling options.

He could try to step across to Dark to try and rouse him... Facing the possibility of being engulfed along the way...

He could just wait and see if this rides out... Facing the likelihood that he would be overwhelmed before that happened...

He could try to burn it away... Possibly burning the oxygen supply and suffocating them both...

He could try to throw something at him... And it probably do nothing...

He could hope someone passes by and stops this... Which was least likely, and no one would even hear him...

Holding the small fire ball in his hands in front of him as he shrunk against the wall, sitting on the bed with his limbs drawn close, he stared in stupefied dread as the shadowed thing spread to every inch of the cell, swallowing every ounce of light save for the one in his hands, which glowed dimly compared to massive darkness.

Iblis realized something quite unnerving now: It was pitch black. He couldn't see passed what the dim fire allowed, which was nothing more than a foot and a half radius from the flame he held. What's more, it was even drastically lower in temperature now, with Iblis' natural heat from his body causing hear vapors to rise from him.

Ever so silent, not even sure what was happening, the flame creature strained his ears to hear what he could, realizing it was dead silent in the cell, with even the gasps from Dark gone.

_... This is getting... Creepy..._ Iblis thought, hesitant to use that word, as he wasn't even sure if he knew what that was or how it felt.

A small flash of green light glittered to his right, and the flame swung his head to the source, finding nothing.

He pulled back and looked forward, and jumped, actually letting loose a squeak at what he saw. Dark was standing at the edge of the bed, his eyes staring not at him, but the fire he held.

Taking a brief moment to look at the shadow hedgehog, Iblis realized it was pretty much just that; the shadow was radiating off of Dark, sliding and dripping off his form like condensation on a cold glass in summer, while a layer of the dark Aura-like substance coated around him like a film.

Something was very wrong, indeed.

The blank look in his eyes slowly shifted, and for a moment a flicker of pinkish-purple danced across his irises that shone in the light, his mouth twitching at the corners before stretching into a smirk, his teeth, which were more akin to a Mobian Echidna's than a Mobian Hedgehog's, flashed in the glow of the fire.

_... Dark's not in control of his powers..._ Iblis realized in mute horror as the other moved closer. _... His powers are in control of him!_

Oozing tendrils of inky black reared up in front of the flame like a wave, washing over the fire he held, snuffing it out in a blink.

Everything was absolute darkness now. Straining his ears for sounds of movement, he yanked his arm back when something sticky creeped up it, and snapped his fingers again, sparking another, somewhat smaller flame.

_Can't make too many of these so close together in this state..._ He reminded himself, not at all comforted by the even shorter range of vision he had.

Something large moved and lunged for the fire, knocking him off the bed and into the shadowed floor below, which took it's time adhering to him, as if toying with him maliciously. He pulled free with a sticky **POP**, and got to his feet just as he could feel the ooze sliding across his toes.

He snapped his fingers again, having lost the fire and could only conjure an already dwindling light. He cursed to himself, looking around anxiously as he kicked the goop off his feet.

_... Where did he go..?_

"_Hello, Brother._" The Shadow's voice whispered in his ear, making Iblis spin around to face him in shock.

"_Dark! Stop this! You'll-_"

"_I feel so... Powerful..._" Dark cut across him as if he hadn't spoken at all. A brief look of bliss worked into his features, as if enjoying this. He blinked and looked intently at Iblis. "_Are you impressed? Is it too much..? Not enough..? Good enough..? Am I good enough for you now..?_"

When Iblis just stared in silent horror as his response, Dark got visibly angered and waved his hand above the fire, smothering it with a blanket of darkness. Iblis snapped his fingers again, and got something akin to an ember. He swore out loud this time.

"_Dark! Think about this! You're not yourself!_" Iblis tried to reason with him, holding the tiny flame in his lightly closed hand an attempt the shield it. "_Snap out of it!_"

Dark did not appear to even consider it. He looked positively livid with rage, as if he had considered instead everything Iblis had done that hurt him.

"_I don't think so. You have no idea how long I've waited to-_"

Iblis grabbed the collar on Dark's neck, dropping the ember and pulled forcefully, triggering the automatic shock system that had been in it to keep Dark from removing it himself.

White and yellow sparks shot from it in the inky pitch black cell as Dark shrieked in pain, his thin fur standing on end as electricity of an unknown voltage crackled through him, his crystals unfortunately a conductor. Iblis had let go before the charge started, and watched in dread, knowing that it was hurting Dark.

Dark fell over on his side as the darkness receded quickly into his body, leaving no trace as small charges rippled through his still form.

All was silent now. Iblis found that fact disturbing, as Dark had not moved since he hit the floor. In fact... Nothing about Dark was even so much as twitching...

_Oh... No..._

The flame quickly brought himself to be next to Dark, pressing two fingers under his jaw. There was a very faint pulse, which was hardly detectible. His heart had been within inches of stopping altogether from the combined force of the shock and his physical neglect.

Suddenly, Dark's body shuddered and he coughed, gasping and wheezing for air, as his breathing pattern had momentarily halted.

He groaned pitifully, obviously feeling weak and terrible right now, mouth hanging open in his daze. Half open eyes looked at the other above him, vision doubling and crossing, forcing him to squint.

Then he fainted.

* * *

Mephiles was shivering from the cold. He wished he still had that adorable Chao hat and scarf, but doubted that they would be adequate enough to protect him from the chill.

They were in Holoska. The hedgehog had never seen so much ice and snow before, even in the Ice Cap Mountain. Smooth walls of ice reflected him back at himself like wavy mirrors, and various igloos and snowmen decorated the village. People were crowded around a large fire built in the center, and even little children in parkas played in the white freeze.

Mephiles was immediately intrigued, his eyes widening in awe at how his worst fear (water) had been turned into something that people thrived on (besides just needing it to drink...).

These people built their homes from it even, and children threw balls of packed snow at each other playfully, the powdery ice simply exploding into harmless crystals after contact.

Such a breathtaking view of endless white and pale blue, with the Arctic ocean nearby such a pure and deep sapphire color that Mephiles didn't even care that it was a massive expanse of deep and deadly water... He just saw beautiful imagery untainted by industrial businesses and suburbia. A piece of nature forever preserved to admire.

The sky was just as blue as the water, and in the distance, mammoth glaciers and icebergs created frozen caverns and tunnels to encapsulate the frozen platforms and arches that floated on the surface of the cobalt sea.

A large spray of water shot from the ocean and a massive, gray form surfaced to take a breath before sinking back down, the gigantic tail rising up and gliding back in effortlessly as Mephiles witnessed a huge Humpback Whale breach then call out to its pod.

Admiring the sight, he hardly noticed that Sonic had took off across the water, moving at such a blazing speed that Blue Blur was actually running on the surface of the water, his steps quick enough to not be pulled under as he sidestepped, dodged and leapt over obstacles.

The fox was busy buying a few hot and delicious chilidogs from a nearby vendor, and the pixie dog was hungrily eying a smoked fish of some kind.

Mephiles sighed contently, wondering if Dark would have appreciated the scenery in the way that he did, and he hoped that Dark was doing well enough okay to hang in there long enough for the hedgehog to rescue him.

Even with the sun glittering off the reflective surfaces behind the cottony clouds of white, which made the glare a bit too much, he was sure if Dark had the sunglasses, he could still admire it as well...

Then a fuzzy penguin chick waddled behind him and pecked at his tail... And he screamed as the chick's angry parents squawked and took off after him.


	32. A new iPod Chapter is here!

A light was shining in his eyes, waving back and forth. He didn't know what was going on, and only thought of squeezing his eyes shut when he realized the light was deliberately shining in them.

Groaning in annoyance, he reached a hand up weakly to shove it away, having a great displeasure for anything that agitated his photophobia (sensitivity to light).

His head hurt. What else was new? The side he was laying on ached dully, as if he might have struck it from a fall.

Oh, joy...

At least he was on something soft. And from what he could tell, no restraints were on him either. Something about that calmed him a little, and he stretched a bit before curling up again, intending on enjoying it for as long as he could.

Sensing that the light thing was gone, he opened one eye slowly to look at where he was and was greeted by only blurred shapes, his eyes still extremely out of focus.

_... Wonder what happened..?_ He asked himself, only vaguely aware of anything at the moment. He remembered something about coughing... But everything drew up a blank as far as what happened afterwards...

He didn't particularly care. All that mattered right at that moment was that he was not stressed, concerned, upset, angered, frustrated, or anything else that would have distressed him. He was perfectly content right now with just laying where it was comfortable, and that he was left alone. The only complaint was the impending migraine that was coming, as the signals were starting to flair up.

* * *

"Penguins? Seriously?"

Mephiles nodded frantically, gripping a hand around the base of his tail, eyes brimmed with tears as he wiped at them. On closer inspection, one could see that the flightless birds had pluck out some fur, and various peck marks decorate the exposed pink skin.

The fox was completely baffled.

"How can one person have so much bad luck?" He inquired, handing the hedgehog a chilidog before crawling into the cockpit of the Tornado to retrieve the first aid kit. "The best I can do for it is to disinfect the peck spots and wrap some sterile gauze on it. Just to hide the baldness and heal the bitten spots..."

"... I think one of them crimped the tip..." Mephiles mumbled meekly, taking note that said tip was bent slightly at an odd angle, as if the larger penguin had chomped on it mercilessly. In fact, he was convinced his tail tip was broken.

"Let me see..." Tails approached the wounded extremity, and examined it. "Naw... It's probably just sprained. Let me get a couple of those wood pieces to straighten it out before I wrap it."

"... I didn't even do anything... The baby was the one that started it..." The hedgehog muttered, looking at the ground as his tail was tended to. He glanced over to the left and found the penguin family staring at him from atop a natural ice structure, the parents appearing to be glaring at him while the baby chipped happily, unaware of the trouble it had caused.

The hedgehog flinched.

* * *

Head feeling a bit clearer hours later, Dark eased his eyes open more than last time, still somewhat sleepy. A faint droning sensation was buzzing through his mind, but all things considered, that wasn't much to worry about.

Trying to stifle a yawn, he racked his mind for an explanation for the absence of time his memory currently had.

He got nothing.

_... Urgh... Feels like my head's full of cotton..._ He thought, confused as to why he chose that comparison. _... Why do I feel... Fuzzy..? And not in the fur kind of way..._

Pushing himself up proved to be a difficult task, as his body wanted to just continue laying there for a few more hours, but he wanted to make himself more alert.

"_Do you ever once stop to take a break?_"

He didn't need to look the way of the voice to know who it was.

His arm gave out as he rubbed at his eyes and he collapsed back on the bed. His brain was swimming dizzily with scattered thoughts and motion, as if it all had been scrambled.

"_Not going to be able to do much..._" Iblis said, sounding almost cautious. "_That Human gave you something for the coughing fit, and a side effect is drowsiness..._"

"_... Wh... What..?_" Dark managed, looking up with slightly crossed eyes. "_... What do... Wh... When..?_"

"_Nothing to be concerned about..._" Iblis bit back the urge to snort at him for his goofy reaction. "_Let's just say you had a terrible... episode... and needed to be tended to..._"

"_... Neck feels burned..._ Dark mumbled, carefully pressing his fingers to it while avoiding the collar, flinching slightly at the pain. "_... Like elec-_"

"_It's nothing to be concerned about._" Iblis said again, sounding more insistent. Dark looked up in even more confusion. "_Everything has been tended to for now, so just stay calm._"

Dark frowned slightly.

Before he could ask anything, Iblis added: "_if you don't remember what happened, it's probably for the better..._"

Immediately, Dark's interest skyrocketed.

"_... I'm persistent..._" He informed the other. "_... if I suspect something otherwise... I'll pester you..._"

"_... I see... And what are you going to do now?_"

"_... Nothing..._" Dark said. At the confused look he got, he continued, rubbing at his eyes. "_... Head too foggy... Can't think too well..._" With a groan he added: "_... Don't even know how long I've been here..._"

"_... I'd estimate it to have been..._" Iblis started, simply trying to keep Dark from trailing into thoughts he really shouldn't be trailing into. "_... Two weeks... Two and a half tops..._"

Immediately, Dark's demeanor fell faster than a marble in a fishbowl. The cell even felt like it got colder as he just stared.

"_... Has it only been that long..?_" He said, blinking and shifting his eyes to the floor. "_... It feels longer..._"

Before Iblis could add something a bit more lighthearted to try and keep him from getting upset, he froze when he realized Dark was staring just off from where he was, a slightly angered look touching his eyes.

Glancing around, he could see what Dark was staring at: that blue, hedgehog shaped robot that Dark had caused damage to.

_Stay calm... He can't see me..._ He told himself, staying perfectly still as Dark growled.

"_Go away... I'm not in the mood..._" Dark hissed, ears folding back as he pushed himself up from the bed.

Metal held up the notepad.

_What happened earlier? The voltage was enough to kill you..._

Confusion leaked into Dark's expression as he read and reread it.

"_... What voltage..?_" He finally said, frowning a little before looking at Iblis, who was shaking his head slightly. "_... Explain it to me, as I seem to have a blank spot where the memory should be..._"

Pause. Flip of the page. Scribble scribble. Hold up.

_Enough volts of electricity discharged from that collar to stop your heart earlier. It only should have gone off like that if you tried to rip it off._

"_... Sounds like a serious malfunction..._" Dark said slowly, appearing to be both baffled and uneasy. "_... But, perhaps because of whatever I was given, I cannot recall that... If not for the burn mark there, I wouldn't have even known..._"

Another note.

_The monitoring cameras show that the area right here was obscured by an unknown disturbance of some kind ten minutes prior to the discharge incident._

"_I honestly do not remember anything about the event prior, during, and after._" Dark said truthfully, seeming to be a bit shaken. "_... I... I don't know why that seems to be happening often..._"

He sighed and leaned against the wall with his back to it, tilting his head back and rubbing at his eyes carefully, keeping his claws away from them.

"_... I would say I'm losing my mind... If it was there to begin with..._" He mumbled, shaking his head carefully, as it was still a touch sore from the migraine. "_... But as far as I know... Memory lapses happen when... When I... Well, that's the problem, I would have known if I had been angered or agitated. It's afterwards I don't remember..._" He half rambled. "_Not until I calm down... And as far as I know, I've been asleep..._"

He coughed, groaning in frustration as he had been fighting off the itching tickle in the back of his throat that had been getting more and more noticeable when he used "Uh" and "Ah" sounds.

"_... I've been asle-_" He tried again, but suddenly his voice cracked and gave out, possibly from whatever he was sick with, as well as the earlier excessive use of his voice. His eyes widened in surprise, as that had never happened to him before, and he tried again, only to force out a too soft to be heard whisper instead.

Eyes wide open and hands up in a clawing motion in the air, he would have let loose a scream of anguish and/or horror at his inability to speak, but, as said, Dark couldn't use his voice too well anyway. All he could manage was something similar to a soft wail hardly louder than a whisper.

Metal wrote another note.

_Stop trying to speak. You probably have laryngitis or something of the like, and doing that is either going to delay the healing process or ruin your voice when it does come back. _

Dark just stared, eyes wide and ears back, mouth hung open in horror. With his back still up against the wall, he slid to the floor in a slumped posture, one arm resting on a knee as he just stared.

Then his eyes shimmered and it wasn't long before tears were falling from both frustration and anguish.

_... It's like I'm destined to lose everything... Even my own voice..._ He told himself, frowning before slamming a fist into the wall behind him, then hiding his face in his folded arms.

* * *

"_Oh, Logic! You found him!_" Reese seemed relieved beyond all reason, but still maintained his soft tone. "_And we we're beginning to worry that you wouldn't come back!_"

"_More like he found me..._" The broken glasses one said truthfully, looking down at the floor while Euphie held onto his hand tightly, beaming. "_He said that Zane was active again, and you guys were having trouble calming him down..._" Then he added in a quieter tone: "_... I'm sorry for running off... But after seeing what happened to Sympathy and that I couldn't prevent it... I felt like I failed everyone, and... Well..._" He stuttered to a stop, folding his ears back and biting his bottom lip.

Reese reached under Logic's chin and lifted his head up to look him right in the eyes, which Logic had to squint because of his broken glasses.

"_Logic... Even if you had been able to stop it, I'm sure that monster would have gone after another one of us instead._" He reasoned. "_... The point is, well... It's not your fault. You didn't do that to Sympathy, Dire did..._"

Logic smiled a small nervous smile.

"_I apologize for acting so illogical and uncharacteristic..._" He said, pale face darkening a little as he frowned slightly. "_... I just don't really know what to do..._"

"_I suppose that happens to all of us some time or another..._" Reese said, pulling his hand back. "_Which is probably why some of us have a counterpart who functions similar when the other can't... Like me and you. You handle everything pertaining to logic and intellect, and I handle reason and sense. I'm basically you stripped down to the basics, so I can at least keep Dark calm until you can take over._" Reese smiled reassuringly. "_Now... If only everyone would listen to me as well as you do..._" He added with a touch of annoyance in his quiet voice.

Sympathy simply sat there, slumped forward a bit as if bored. Rage was still trying to snap him out of it, knowing his efforts were futile.

Zane was also sitting in the ground, arms wrapped around himself as he tried to keep from laughing, but failed when he let loose a raucous cackle that echoed in the abyss, gasping harshly between each guffaw like a crazy hyena. He honestly did look like he was trying to stop, but the urge to shriek with laughter was just too strong for him to handle.

* * *

Mephiles did not want to get any closer to the water. There was an absolute look of terror in his eyes when the admiration look wore off. He was trembling so much that Tails was amazed that he was still able to stand.

Scratch that. _Now_ he was leaning against the ice wall and sliding down to sit down with his eyes closed tightly, head tilted back a bit, one hand to his forehead, the other gripping his chest, and breathing pattern getting quite quick and heavy, as if he were hyperventilating.

"Are you alright..?"

Mephiles shook his head slowly.

"... P... P-panic at-tack..." He sputtered, pale face even paler. "... C-can't breathe... F-feel s-sick..."

The hedgehog could feel the chilidog he had eaten earlier threatening to come up. He swallowed and held his stomach with the hand that was on his forehead, trying to ignore the bubbling it had because of his distress.

Despite being in a cold climate and being several shades paler than normal, Mephiles felt like he was burning up. He knew exactly why, but it didn't make it any better for him.

* * *

The cell was unusually silent, mainly because of Dark's temporary absence of vocal ability. Iblis watched as Dark brooded over that, the shadow frowning at the wall as he sat there with his arms folded on his knees. Only Dark knew what was racing through his mind ceaselessly as he stared, something that made Iblis uneasy.

"_... So... Uh... Yeah._" Iblis said, mentally kicking himself for not coming up with anything better.

"_..._" Dark looked up at him before looking back at the wall.

"_... Y'know... If you keep staring at it like that, you might burn a hole in it..._" Iblis tried at a weak bit of humor, unsure of how to do it. "_... Uh... I know I could... Probably..._"

Dark actually smiled a bit in amusement at that. Just a bit.

"_Oh... So you _can_ hear me?_"

Snort in response.

"_... Since you can't talk right now..._" Iblis continued, taking a seat next to him almost awkwardly, looking up at the ceiling. "_... I suppose that's my job, if it helps keeping that... Thing... From distracting you..._"

Dark hesitated before nodding slowly.

"_Okay... What do you want to hear about..?_"

Dark looked at him with eyes half closed in annoyance before rolling them and shaking his head.

"_Oh... Right... Silly me..._" Iblis smacked his own head. "_You're mute right now... You can't really answer..._"

Dark huffed, looking back at the wall. Then he coughed again, momentarily flashing an expression of mild discomfort as he gently pressed his fingers to his throat in an attempt to rub at it without touching the collar.

"_... Maybe it might help to get off the floor and on the bed, since you're just sitting on cold metal..?_" Iblis offered.

Dark narrowed his eyes at him and mouthed: "_... I like cold..._"

"_Oh my Chaos... Something you actually like!_" Iblis said in mock surprise, causing Dark to seem a bit more amused at the somewhat playful reaction. "_And here I was convinced you hated everything!_"

Whatever response Dark was about to give was cut off by another coughing fit that left him quite breathless, eyes stinging with tears from the difficulty he had trying to breathe during it. When it subsided considerably, his pale face was slightly flushed across his muzzle, and he stared at the ground again, an occasional weak cough escaping him.

"_Okay, that settles it..._" Iblis said, concerned about the amount of coughing that was going on. "_You. Off the floor now. It's not going to make you feel better sitting there._"

Dark made a growling sound of protest, but nevertheless complied. He sat down on the bed with his arms folded, frowning slightly.

"_Don't look at me like that. You're the one having trouble breathing without choking every other minute._" Iblis folded his arms as well.

Dark's ears swiveled back in annoyance to answer that.

* * *

Panic attack averted now, with a bit of help, Mephiles was now sitting on a bench, occupying himself with melting a piece of candy in his mouth, eyes free from seeing the water.

"... S-sorry... I just f-freeze up around water..." The hedgehog said quietly, head down and ears pinned back. "... There's j-just too much of it here..."

_Is there anything he isn't afraid of..?_ Tails thought as he rubbed the back of his own head while looking up at a cloud.

"I guess that means you don't want too do much sight seeing here, then..?"

"... I was also c-caught in an avalanche once..." Mephiles added. "I d-don't mind s-snow... It's th-the water and falling glaciers th-that are sc-scaring me..."

"... Why do you even leave the house then..?" Tails said before he could stop himself and quickly added to not sound so mean: "I mean, if you keep getting into bad situations and getting hurt, why don't you just keep out of them?"

Mephiles just stared before actually snorting in amusement.

"Because I'm lucky." He said, stutter starting to fade. "If I've almost died more than once, then that just means that I'm hard to kill... Probably because I heal fast, really. If I just hide, then I wouldn't get to see places and meet people. But in this case..." He added, ears lifting up a bit. "The only reason I haven't let Shadow and Rouge pick me up and take me back home is because I need to find Dark. I was the one who convinced him to leave the house, anyway... He normally just hides and something like this wouldn't have happened if i just waited..."

"You can't really be sure if it wouldn't have happened at only at that particular time..." Tails reasoned.

"Maybe... But I'm also a... Eh... Wh-what's the word..?" The hedgehog scratched behind his ear in thought. "Worrywart? I think... Anyway, Shadow keeps warning me that my quills will fall out if I keep at it, so I must be pretty bad with worrying..."

"You do seem to fret over things, legit or otherwise..." Tails admitted. "I suppose, given what you say has happened with you, you've got a good reason to do so."

"... I guess..." Mephiles shrugged before an idea struck him. "Hey? Do you know if any of the places we'll be going to sell square cantaloupe?"

"Why..?" Tails was thrown off by the sudden odd request.

"Dark's favorite food is cantaloupe, and he's asked for a square one before... But the first one kinda got forgotten in all this nighttime possession thing, and kinda went bad before we could use it..." The hedgehog explained while blushing slightly. "... You probably won't really get it, but it means a lot to Dark for me to get one for him... I think it's to show that someone would be willing to go through the trouble to please him..."

"He really sounds like he has really low self esteem or something..." Tails raised his eyebrows. "What on Mobius happened to him to do that to him?"

"You really don't want to know... It's pretty bad." Mephiles' ears fell down again. "... Something bad enough to shatter him. He used to be very different. In fact, he's still kind of recovering... He just seems better most of the time around me because he tends to ease up around me. I'm the only one he trusts, really... He's very bitter towards Shadow for an accident that happened a long time ago neither of them intended, and I'm not really sure what he thinks of Rouge, since he kinda stays away from both of them if he's not around me... He's got a cat, though." Mephiles added, smiling a bit at the thought. "He calls him 'Tape'... He found him as a really tiny kitten in an alley, and didn't want to leave him there. It's really cute how he is around him, too, if Dark doesn't think anyone's watching."

"What an odd name for a cat..."

"It made sense at the time for him." Mephiles snorted a laugh lightly. "During that time, he was stuck on the idea of using tape to fix things, and when he was hurt, Tape made him feel better. I think it helps to have such a small creature not show anything other than love with him..." He continued, before adding an afterthought: "Of course, that's probably why he's so darn protective of me... I wasn't scared of him when we first met..."

"But, you said he was your brother..." Tails said slowly, raising an eyebrow.

Mephiles realized he almost pushed himself into a corner he couldn't talk out of. He didn't have the time to explain everything about Dark, and most of it was hard to catch onto if you weren't there to begin with.

Thinking fast, he added while waving a hand about as if trying to erase some of what he said: "Honestly? We're not really related, but I've known him long enough for him to be my brother. We met a long time ago when we were both all alone, already having lost our real families. In fact, where we were, there was no one else anywhere, so if we didn't meet, we would have been alone for a really long time..."

Surprisingly, Tails' confused expression changed to one of extreme understanding.

"I know what you mean..." The fox said, smiling slightly. "Sonic found me in a forest all by myself... Before him, I was alone too." Tails explained. "Calls me his little brother, and no one ever really questions that. We've been like that since day one. Stopping Eggman, seeing the world, meeting new people and friends... I would have never been able to do that without him. In fact... He's the one that helped me find out I could spin my tails to fly. Before that, I just had them flail behind me because I didn't know what to do with them, other than curl up in them at night." Then he added almost absently: "It's really nice to have an extra fluffy tail to go with the other when it's cold..."

"... And I just have a dinky one that's tipped in crystal shards..." Mephiles looked at his own hedgehog tail that was still wrapped in a splint. "I can't tell you how many times it's stabbed me while sitting down before I got it right, or how that short fur does nothing to keep it from feeling frozen..."

"Why do you have all that crystal on you anyway?"

"... A lot of Chaos exposure at a younger age..." Mephiles said after pausing. "... I... Uh... I used to be brown, actually. That's also why I have these abilities and my eyes are like this too..."

"... Geeze... You must have been drenched with it to get such a reaction." Tails said, widening his eyes. "I've always come in contact with at least one Emerald every few weeks or so, but I've never had anything change on me..."


	33. iPod's Rock!

"Well, hello again, Dark!"

Said shadow regretted having fallen asleep, as he was left to face his tormentor without his voice, which made him feel quite vulnerable... More so than anything else so far, that is.

Dire beamed at Dark's uneasy expression, worsening it even more.

"Can you believe it's been at least a month already?" The creature trilled, circling around Dark excitedly as if too pleased to contain himself. "A month since I showed up, and at least half that since that hedgehog was-"

Something snapped with Dark, and he lunged at Dire, teeth latching onto the soft flesh of the arm as he bit down forcefully, appearing to be quite livid. Dire didn't even bat an eye at that.

"Even though that hurts..." He said, grinning widely enough that Dark let go slowly, wary of what was in mind. "I'm quite impressed at the force behind it. Oh, look! Punctures!" Dire examined his wounds with strange curiosity. "You've got some pretty sharp teeth there... How long are those canines, anyway? Hard to believe a set of those belong to someone who eats only plant products..." He caught Dark by the jaw and pried open his mouth with one hand to examine said teeth. "Just right for tearing a good piece off someone's arm! What a waste!"

Dark pulled free and tried to swipe his claws at him but was caught by the wrist.

"Dark? Didn't we already go over the claws?" Dire shook his head in mock scolding.

Dark narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth, swiveling his ears back as he bristled his fur.

"Bit late to be showing a backbone, isn't it?" Dire said casually, tossing Dark's arm away from him. "I already know you're afraid of me."

Dark was heaving air through clenched teeth angrily, looking as though if he were able to speak, he'd have nothing kind to say to him.

"As impressive as that display of hostility is..." Dire continued, chewing slightly on a crystal claw in thought. "You seem to have forgotten what I run on. Remember? Dark thoughts, pain filled hearts, all the negativity..." He smirked as Dark's expression faded slowly into horror. "And yes... Your's is the easiest to soak up..."

Dark's eyes shifted to the ground quickly, as if trying to think of a new tactic.

Offhandedly, Dire added: "I suppose things have gotten a bit easier now, though... Since that hedgehog's been gone. He was too much of a distraction anyway..."

Dark stiffened with a sharp gasp, but continued to have his head down.

"Oh, that's right... How tactless..." Dire "caught" himself, hand to his mouth in mock shock. "You're still not over that stupid hedgehog. I imagine it must still sting, as he was the only sentient being that even liked you, much less thought of you as an individual capable of independent thought..."

Dark didn't look up, but was shuddering slightly as he clenched his hands into fists as Dire walked around him in a circle.

"And if he _was_ still alive... I think he would have found you by now anyway, since it's been half a month. Which begs the question..." Dire stopped circling to stand in front of him to lean into his ear. "How far will he really go for you? He says all these things, but is he here yet? What's taking him so long? Did he find new friends to replace you with? Did he just go back home? Why isn't he working harder at finding you if he's still alive as you hope so much?"

Dark's ears folded back in an attempt to block out his words as the shadow brought his hands to them.

Dire reached for his wrists and pulled his hands away, causing Dark to look up with an expression of lividness and anguish.

Then Dark headbutted the creature, causing Dire to cry out shrilly in pain and surprise as he shouted several curses while Dark grinned smugly as Dire stumbled back.

Dire then morphed into his Little Rex form and headbutted Dark back with a snarl and sharp back, knocking Dark to the ground.

Dark recovered quickly, but before he could get up, the stylized reptilian creature hopped onto the shadow's head, balancing his center of gravity to keep both tiny feet on the side of his head.

"Get up... And I'll drive my claws in deep..." Dire threatened, as Dark flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, which the claws were quite close to. Dire huffed through his nose and sneered. "You're nothing more than a paper tiger... You talk the talk, but you can't walk the walk..." He leaned in more. "I can do both..."

* * *

"And one more makes three!" Mephiles said, drawing a line over the Xs.

Chip quickly drew another three by three grid with a stick in the snow.

"You be O this time!" He said, folding his arms.

"Alrighty..." Mephiles grinned and waited for his turn.

Tails and Sonic stared at all the tic tac toe games etched into the ice, several of which had two lines crossed through, when Mephiles had managed to do a rare double win.

"Three in a row." Mephiles closed his eyes with a small smile as he crossed out the line diagonally. "That makes the score... Thirty-nine me, twelve you... Wanna try again?"

"Winner takes chocolate bar!" Chip shouted in dramatic determination, holding his newest chocolate bar high above his head. "Go!"

Two seconds later, Chip was staring in mute disbelief as he held out his candy bar on loose hands.

"Uh... I can give you back half..." Mephiles offered, thinking that the size of the candy bar might be too much. "Y'know, I really oughta introduce Dark to chocolate... He might like it, even..."

"Your brother's never had chocolate before?" Chip stared at him incredulously.

"Well, he's never had a lot of things, really..." The hedgehog shrugged nervously. "He's just learning about things now that he's opening up. He does like cantaloupe, though... Other melons too, but he has a particular interest in that. I think he likes mint candy, too, but he hasn't admitted it... But he was really caught off guard by the cinnamon one..." Mephiles continued distractedly. "Any concept of burning kinda startles him... Dark has had some bad experiences with... He's never really liked fire..." Mephiles' ears swiveled back under the hat he had been given in the cold climate. There was a pause as he looked down and added in a softer voice: "... I hope he's doing okay... He can't handle being away from me this long, before he starts..."

Mephiles bit his lip, and shook his head slowly instead. He didn't want to think of what would happen with Dark's thought process during this. He wished that Dark was hanging in there, hoping that they would see each other soon. It drove the hedgehog himself a little nuts that he couldn't "hear" Dark as well, making it feel as if there was chunk missing from him.

He looked back at the snow and saw that he had absentmindedly drawn a doodle Dark head in place of an O.

He sighed and bit into the chocolate and stared at it.

* * *

The phone rang. Rouge put it on speaker.

"Yes?"

"Rouge? It's Mephy..."

"Kid! How are you?" The bat smiled, sliding her chair closer to the phone as Shadow's head popped up over the top edge of the cubicle. "It's been two days since you last checked in..." She said teasingly, trying to get a laugh from the young hedgehog, who snorted softly at her parent-like attitude.

"I've been better... We're in Holoska now." Mephiles explained. "Still not much to indicate of Dark, so he's gotta be at that base..."

"Holoska? You're really traveling all over the world, aren't you?" Shadow slid in the cubicle on his chair, not quite as gracefully as Rouge had. "How is it over there?"

"... Uh... Cold. And white... With blue... It's a place made of snow, water and ice..." Mephiles tried to explain, sounding a bit baffled as to how to describe everything as he saw it. "People live in houses made of ice, and there's always a fire going, and there's whales here... Huge whales!"

"... Meph... Whales are supposed to be huge..."

"But, those are the first real ones I've seen." The hedgehog huffed. "They look amazing in real life!"

"There's a lot that goes on passed the mailbox, Meph..." Shadow folded his arms and smiled a bit, a laugh present in his voice. "I've been trying to tell you that for a year..."

"How have you been doing with Sonic and his friends?" Rouge added, twirling a pen in her fingers that she had been holding. "No problems?"

"Not really. Tails has been really nice, though I think I kinda weird him out, but he tries not to make that obvious..." Mephiles sounded as if he found that a bit amusing. "Sonic has been handling a lot of that temple finding stuff he needs to do, and Chip seems to like me... I won his chocolate bar in a tic tac toe game while we were waiting until night so Sonic can stop one of those night monsters..."

"How did that go?"

"Actually, he's doing it right-SWEET ZOMBIE CHAOS!" Mephiles shouted, dropping the phone, before a loud **THUNK**, and a distant roar of some beast sounded off and he scrambled to pick up the phone again. "S-Sorry, I think a... Uh... Wh-what's that say..? 'Ni-tro-gen'... Huh... A Nitrogen Tank almost hit the p-pay phone. That th-thing's leaking out stuff, s-so I should just call later... Bummer... I wanted to talk more..."

"Are you alright?" Rouge said in shock as Shadow stared.

"I'm fine... It missed me... I have no idea where it came from, though... Creepy..." Mephiles said, sounding startled.

* * *

"_... Well... This is... Different..._" Iblis said slowly, as Dark had woken up quite suddenly, and wasted no time in latching onto him, as if afraid of being otherwise. Considering how Dark had reacted violently at being held before, Iblis wasn't sure of what to do.

Dark simply stared off to the side with his teeth clenched, shuddering in silent fear, as if completely rattled. Then, without warning, he cried out in fright with a still weak sounding voice (as it was still recovering from his illness) and actually bit Iblis' arm, who was too stunned to even react at that other than shout in pain.

Then Dark just sat there silently, staring ahead with half closed eyes and teeth clenched tightly, body trembling again.

Iblis blinked, holding a hand to his bitten arm as he stared at his younger twin cautiously, perplexed at that behavior. He had never seen Dark do that before, but of course... There was much about Dark he had yet to learn. He was aware to some degree of Dark's somnambulism, and could see that Dark didn't seem awake, or even asleep at the moment.

Against better judgement, Iblis decided to reach a hand over to him and touch it to his shoulder, which caused Dark to snap awake with a startled (but quiet) yelp, pulling away and actually falling off the bed and landing with a **THUD** on his back.

"_I didn't mean to frighten you..._" Iblis blinked again and pulled his hand back, which had been where Dark's shoulder had been half a minute before. "_Honestly, I couldn't tell if you were awake or not... Hugging me one minute, and biting me the next..._"

Dark stared, face steadily getting red from embarrassment as he pushed himself up off the ground and folded his arms is if he had been cold and hunched his shoulders, as if to try and hide a bit.

"_If I didn't know any better..._" Iblis said, thinking carefully as he examined Dark's body language. "_I'd say that you just had a... A nightmare..?_" Iblis wasn't sure if he could identify if Dark had had one or not, but that was all he could think of to match it to it.

Dark's eyes grew wide slowly before returning to the half closed stare. He looked at the ground, but didn't answer.

"_If you don't want to tell me, I suppose it's your call..._" The flame said, shrugging slightly. "_I mean, as far as you care, I'm not even real..._"

"... Do you think Mephy would replace me..?"

The lack of growl in the voice stunned Iblis, as he had never heard Dark's voice without the growl before. He stared before he comprehended the question, and blinked before saying: "_Who told you that would happened..?_"

Dark didn't answer that question, but continued in the same voice (which was still not much louder than a whisper, due to still recovering), sounding very worried and anxious.

"... If he couldn't find me... Would he just give up and find someone to take my place..?" He said, shuddering as he looked a his feet. "... Is he even trying..? What's taking him so long..?"

"_Dark, you know that hedgehog would never let you be hurt..._" The flame tried to reason. "_If it was any indication, that boy will do anything for you... Just you..._" He paused, realizing that he was terrible at this sort of talk. He shook his head slightly and put both hands on his twin's shoulders. "_Look... He's everything to you what I should have been... He made a promise to you, and I don't think anything would make him break it..._"

"_Then what's taking him so long?_" The growl had returned to Dark's voice, making him sound annoyed now, rather than worried and scared.

"_I don't have the answer for that, Dark..._" Iblis shook his head, letting go. "_But who told you all that?_"

Dark blinked before looking back at the ground.

"_... D... Dire..._" He stammered, sounding timid now.

"_Dark... I want you to not listen to that creature..._" Iblis warned, closing his eyes.

Dark clenched his teeth and looked at the ground again.

"_... He's a horrible creature..._" Dark muttered, folding his ears back. He then went on to explain a bit of what Dire had done recently in short detail, finding his throat starting to hurt again.


	34. Running out of iPod title names

Mephiles looked up at the night sky as he and Tails waited for Sonic and Chip to return from their temple hunt. The sky was just saturated with stars and glowing lights, something the hedgehog was not used to seeing in suburbia.

"Wow... There's so many..."

"That's how it's supposed to look when there's no city lights drowning them out..." Tails said, watching a wave of color through them. "And that colorful stuff there is the Aurora Borealis. You'd never see that in Westopolis." "I bet Dark might like that..." Mephiles' eyes darted across the sky. "He's always had a fondness for nighttime, and I think seeing how pretty it is might make him feel special..."

"How so?"

"... Remember how I said met Dark a long time ago..?" The hedgehog said carefully, looking at the fox, who nodded. "Well... Dark isn't a hedgehog, even if he looks like it... He's actually a... What's the word..? A shadow..? He likes nighttime, and a good number of his abilities work best when there's a lacking in light. He was just a shadow when I met him, before he got a form similar to mine..." Mephiles explained briefly. "Anyway, he enjoys nighttime more than day, probably because it doesn't hurt his eyes as much, too..."

Suddenly, Mephiles had that same look he did before the ground started shaking back in Chun-nan. He jumped out of the stationary plane and attempted to run, but ended up staying in the same place as he had very little traction on ice with his crystal coated feet.

Tails watched him run in place before trying to move his legs faster, then on all fours, before the ice made him turn slightly and out of sheer dumb, he finally got traction... And ran right into the side of the Tornado head first.

Wondering how he didn't knock himself out, Tails leaned over the side of the craft and pulled the hedgehog up and into a seat.

"Did you forget that Sonic was restoring a piece of the planet?"

"No..." Mephiles rubbed the sore spot on his head, wincing. "Instinct told me to run again, and I didn't bother to reason with him..."

* * *

After Dark had said all he felt he was capable of at the moment, he realized he couldn't stop trembling. He held his breath and tried to will himself to stop, but it was as if his senses, body and mind were all out of sync.

He was aware, but he felt disconnected from himself, with only a buzzing, tingling sensation spreading throughout his limbs, to his back and up and down his spine, making him feel numb.

He slid to the ground in a feeble attempt to counter the possibility of collapsing on the floor in a heap. Drawing his legs in, he wrapped his arms around them at the knees and stared ahead blankly, unconsciously rocking himself in small and careful movements, almost in perfect even increments in sync to his rhythmic short huffs of air.

"_... I'm so miserable..._" He muttered, shaking his head slowly before burying it in his knees. Muffled, he added: "_... I quite literally feel like I'm drowning... There's no Mephy, I've been talking to a figment for more than two weeks, and that horrid creature is chipping away at every effort I have used to try and counter him... Effectively, at that..._" A shuddering sigh with a sudden slack in posture as he continued. "_... What happens to me if I do manage to be freed..? Without Mephy, I'm sure I would not be allowed back at the house... Shadow has expressed his disapproval of me countless times, and I'm sure he would blame me for what happened to Mephy... He'd have a very good reason to hand me over to GUN. Then I'll be locked away again... That time, for good. Labeled simply as an artifact, or hazard... Not an individual. Perhaps they'll run experiments on me, to see what I'm comprised of... To see what stressors I can or cannot handle... Maybe (huff)... (huff) M-maybe..._"

Dark suddenly sounded as if he were having trouble breathing evenly and properly. His body shook and he lifted his head, staring with blank, wide eyes as he slowly worked his fingers into his quills.

Iblis was, again, worried. So far, when Dark had suddenly stopped talking, or appeared startled, or even acted in any way that he could call "strange"... Dark had exploded in a fit of absolute rage or fear, both types of cases ending up with the shadow causing some form of injury to himself, be it intentional, or unintentional.

Then, suddenly, with surprising volume for someone suspected of suffering from some form of bronchial infection, Dark threw his head back and screamed at the top of his voice: "SOMEBODY GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

This startled Iblis, who flinched as a reflex, while Dark crawled over to the plexiglas, stood and pounded both fists on it desperately.

"I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO BE LOCKED UP!" Dark screeched, no doubt causing his throat to feel as if he has swallowed glass now at that volume. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S DOING TO ME! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

He gasped harshly, gulping down breaths as he trembled, one arm braced against the clear wall above his head, the other dangling limply at his side. He rested his forehead on the wall, quivering as he let himself sink to the floor, arm above his head dragging his half closed hand along the way, scraping sounds drowned out by his gasping. That arm also dropped to his side.

There was a long, awkward silence as no one outside the cell seemed to want to answer Dark. Iblis could see him lift his head slightly and dart his eyes up and down the corridor in front of him, as if searching for reassurance that he was not ignored. Each second seemed to add more and more to his frantic look until he seemed unable to stand it much longer.

His left hand twitched, and lifted from the ground carefully, making it's way to the collar around his neck.

"_... Dark... What are you doing..?_" Iblis said in an anxious soft tone as the fingers gently probed the device, discharging a spark or two that Dark didn't flinch at as he slid his fingers between it and his throat, following suit with his other hand until he had both hands gripping it lightly, staring with wide eyes out of the cell. "_... Dark... Don't touch that... What are-!_"

Iblis cut himself off just as Dark looked at him as if he had just remembered he was there, not appearing startled, but more as though he thought: "_Oh... I thought you'd left..._"

Then Dark closed his eyes and smiled smally, a way that was very uncharacteristic of him, before saying: "_Don't worry... I just want to get out..._"

"_... There's enough voltage in that to stop your heart..._" Iblis said, holding his hands up as he carefully tried to make his way to Dark, who continued to smile, which did nothing to comfort the flame. "_... Your crystals are a conductor... The floor is metal... You could cause severe damage to yourself..._"

"_... True... But what am I going to damage that isn't already hurt..?_" Dark's smile faded slowly and he opened his eyes halfway to look at him.

Then he closed his fingers around the collar and pulled before Iblis could stop him.

A shower of sparks fell to the ground as his crystals glowed from the flow of electricity, and his fur and quills standing on end as he clenched his teeth from pain.

"_IDIOT!_" Iblis shouted, Dark having dropped on his side, visible volts crackling and sparking between his crystals and the floor as he let go of the collar, stopping the current and looking as though he had temporarily lost nearly all ability to move. Iblis was reaching up to his own ears as he paced back and forth, appearing to be on the verge of some sort of crisis. "_YOU IDIOT! Why would you do that! What if you caused your heart to stop! You can't guarantee someone is going to show up to fix everything medical with you, more so just in time before you-!_" Sharp inhale of breath as he combed his fingers through his quills and struggled to compose himself, speaking in a no less calm voice. "_... It's an absolute wonder you haven't managed to get yourself killed... And that's not a challenge, by the way..._" He added hastily, in case that enticed Dark to be more careless. "_... How does that hedgehog keep up with you..?_"

Dark's only response was a cough and something resembling a weak and squeaky: "_... Owww..._"

* * *

With Holoska restored, the odd group of heroes had no choice but to continue on their way. And by that, I mean that they were all at a loss as to where to go next, and had to double back to Spagonia for Sonic to meet with some guy named Professor Pickle for further directions.

Needless to say, Mephiles wasn't too keen on the idea of going backwards, but nevertheless kept his mouth shut, mainly because doing otherwise would result in quite a mess in the Tornado at this altitude.

Once back in Spagonia, Mephiles decided instead of hiding in or near the plane like he had done for most of the trip, he would instead follow the hedgehog, fox, and impish canine into the Professor's lab, mainly because darkness was falling and he didn't want to be alone for an unknown amount of time if people could easily snap under the influence of Dark Gaia as reported.

He stayed close to them, twitching his ears and nose as he kept his best senses on high alert, until they ventured out of the small forest, into town, down the streets and finally at the university.

Mephiles hadn't exactly met Professor Pickle before, so he adopted his usual timidness around strangers and for the most part hid behind Tails, hardly spoke, and kept his eyes to the floor and his head down, with his fingers idly curling and pulling at the tufts of fur on his muzzle.

* * *

Of course, Dark's little run in with electricity did not go unnoticed. By that time, he had already regained some feeling in his hands and feet, but still opted to lay on the floor in the same position he had fallen into, and stared intently ahead, as if completely shut off in thought.

After being examined, tended to and moved to a cell that can only be guessed as a Recovery Cell (odd, since the egg shaped Human seemed to be the only organic being sans Dark on the base, and the robots didn't seem to need it...), Dark was now making an attempt to move his appendages, the pins and needles feeling going away as the blood circulated through each vein properly.

Then suddenly, he winced in pain and clutched his right wrist, which he became aware of pretty soon that it was slightly swollen, as well as bruised.

As it turns out, he had sprained his wrist when he hit tue ground, as his natural instinct caused him to put his hand out to lessen the impact of the fall, which put all the force on the joint, which caused him to injure his wrist.

"You're lucky it's not broken."

He would have laughed coldly at that as a response, as he wasn't sure how it was lucky if it was still injured.

Through clenched teeth, he managed: "_... I suppose the only luck is th-that I'm left handed..._"

His wrist was wrapped so that he had reduced mobility to it, which would help with the healing process.

"_Maybe if you took this collar off me, I'd stop getting hurt..?_" Dark growled, holding his arm to his chest.

"You're forgetting the main reason why it's there..." The Human tilted his head back and pinched the bridge of his nose, obviously exasperated at Dark. "Because your core body temperature is several degrees lower than the average Mobian, the heat from the center of the planet would kill you faster than it would, say, Sonic. The collar is regulating your internal temperature so you don't die from heatstroke."

"_And the shock portion of it isn't so you can keep me under control..?_" Dark hissed sarcastically, baring his teeth. "_I suppose the only reason I haven't tried to rip that furry lip hair of your off and shoved it down your throat is because you can zap me at any given moment... And the crystals on my body are highly conductive, so any jolt I get is magnified..._"

"That hasn't seemed to stop you from triggering it anyway..."

Dark looked down and didn't answer, instead just frowning as he tried to stifle a cough.

"Lift up your head."

Dark glared, but did nothing, prompting a gloved hand to do it for him, probing just above the collar, which Dark didn't like at all.

"Your lymph nodes are swollen."

Dark looked at him with an uncomprehending expression.

"They're part of your immune system. It means your body is fighting off an infection." The Doctor explained.

"_... Literally... Or figuratively..?_" Dark said slowly, looking as though he was hoping it was referring to Dire.

"Literal. You seem to have trouble pronouncing 'Ah' sounds without your voice cracking." Eggman observed. "Or coughing..."

"_... Your robot mentioned something about laryngitis..._" Dark offered, wondering if he was finally going to be able to stop coughing with help.

"... Why wasn't this reported to me..?"

* * *

"It just extracts the monsters..?" Mephiles said while examining the rather old looking flash camera Chip had been holding. "Is it really that easy..? Does it really work like that..? This old camera..?"

"Dear boy, this is not just an old camera..." Professor Pickle explained, the young hedgehog looking up at him. "This contraption has been modified so that the flash drives out the nocturnal demons possessing and terrorizing the innocent."

_That's... Totally what I just said..._ Mephiles' eyes closed halfway and judging from Sonic, Tails and Chip's reactions, they thought the same thing.

"Can it work on Dark..?" The crystal hedgehog asked, handing the camera back to Chip. "You have no idea how grateful he would be if we could just yank that little beast out of him..."

"I don't see why not... Where is he, now..?"

Mephiles held his breath to stop a stammer of annoyance. This was the fifth time in the past quarter of an hour that he had explained about Dark to this absentminded professor.

"He's the one that Doctor Eggman kidnapped, remember Professor?" Tails forced a laugh as he scratched his head. "That's why Mephiles is with us, since we have to go there anyway."

"Oh... Oh!" The elderly man suddenly exclaimed. "Of course, how rude of me! My apologies!"

"... Not really a problem..." Mephiles muttered, shaking his head. "... It's alright..."

* * *

Dark was asleep on his left side, keeping his right arm propped up by several pillows to keep as much stress off it as possible.

Initially, he was mildly surprised at how much more comfortable this bed was compared to the one in the cell (again, odd, seeing as the massive majority of inhabitants here were robots...). Almost as good as the ones in the Westopolis Hospital...

When that thought crossed his tired mind, he opened his eyes slightly, finding the figment of his twin to be sitting in a nearby chair, much in the same way as he had when he first started appearing to him at the hospital; legs drawn up to the cushion, one arm hugging the knees, one arm resting at his side, head sitting on the knees and anxious eyes staring at him.

"_What happened to your hand? I thought to only electrocuted yourself._" Iblis said, once he realized Dark had woken up and was staring back at him.

"_... Mild sprain of my wrist from falling..._" Dark grunted from his vocal distress, lifting his head a bit to shift it's position on the pillow. "_... Shouldn't take more than two weeks to heal... Faster if Meph-!_" He cut himself off, having been speaking without really thinking of what he was saying, and had automatically associated the hedgehog with relief from injury, as it had become second nature prior to the previous fortnight. He blamed the exhaustion for that.

His eyes stung a bit and he quickly buried his nose between the pillow his head was resting on and the pillows his arm had been propped up by. Iblis heard a deep exhale come from him.

"_... Y'know..._" Iblis tried to keep him from getting upset, for fear that it would trigger another "Darkness Episode" (something Iblis had pinned to the event to describe it). "_... You're not locked up right now... And no one is watching you. You could, if you wanted to, leave this room and find a way out... Like... Escape..._"

"_... Can't..._" Dark said in a low voice, which was a bit cracked (from being sick or being upset was up for debate).

"_Why not? You can't be kept here forever._" Iblis was taken aback by Dark's lack of enthusiasm for the idea.

Dark lifted his head up enough to look at him, stared for a good long time, and finally managed in a small voice: "_... The only way out this section is up a flight of stairs..._"

"_... So?_" Iblis didn't quite get why this was such a deterrent. "_It's just an incline made out of steps. What's the problem?_"

"_... Oh, no problem..._" Dark huffed, sounding as if he was having a bit of trouble catching his breath as he pushed himself up with his good arm. "_... At least, there wouldn't be if I hadn't been thrown down a set and cracked my skull trying to protect myself._"

"_..._"

"_..!_"

"_..._"

"_..!_"

"_... Oh, Chaos, that's right..._" Iblis pinched the spot between his eyebrows as he closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "_... And you've been terrified of those things ever since... I don't blame you..._"

"_... That's a first._" Dark snapped at him, baring his teeth.

"_Oh, hush! It's nighttime, so that's probably just the little beast making you say that!_" Iblis half opened his eyes and narrowed them at him. "_Just go back to sleep._"

"_... My arm hurts, my throat hurts, Dire might torment me while I sleep, and I'm miserable as-_" Honestly, where did he learn these words..? "_... You try it and see how easy it is to fall asleep..._"

Taken aback by Dark's bluntness and language, Iblis blinked and said: "_... You had no trouble sleeping earlier..._"

"_... It was light out... Dire only messes with me when the sun goes down..._" Dark explained, glaring. "_... I'd sleep more during the day if I wasn't an insomniac or a fretter..._"

"_A what..?_"

"_... I've probably developed an anxiety disorder in the recent months..._" Dark explained, heaving a sigh as his pale face darkened a bit. "_... That was a nervous breakdown earlier, by the way. I normally don't remember such things happening, but this one I recall vaguely, like a dream. If I attacked you, I apologize..._"

"_... You didn't..._" Iblis said, looking at him strangely. "_... What about it do you remember..?_"

"_... The last clear thing I recall is speaking about what would happen if I was taken into custody by GUN..._" Dark looked as though the idea of even thinking about it was enough to send chills through his spine. "_... It garbles after that, and I know wanted to get out of the cell... If not for the aftermath, I wouldn't have guessed that I pulled the coll-_" Dark's voice suddenly gave out again, obviously because Dark had reached his limit for speech before his sickness decided to end it for him. He coughed, cleared his throat, swallowed, flashed an expression of pain, held a hand to his neck and managed with a weak croak: "_... S-sorry... Throat... Ahh..._"

* * *

"I should have never asked!" Mephiles shouted, rolling out from under the outdoor table as one of the ape-like neon monsters smashed a stretchy arm into it just inches from where the hedgehog had been.

Chip had flashed the camera at a small group of individuals who had been acting differently than when they passed by them when it was light out, and was "worth looking into", so Sonic said.

Mephiles didn't bother to try and count them all, as there was already too many of the tiny stout crocodilian monstrosities to begin with, much less the larger horned ape ones, and to his dismay, a hulking beast the size of a house with a massive wood club stomped through the streets, smashing the pavement with it's weapon as it tried to flatten the Werehog running circles around it on all fours.

Chip buzzed back and forth in the air as the troop of Little Rexes (as they had all learned from Professor Pickle's books were called) hopped up and down, snapping their bear trap jaws on their oversized heads at him, snarling and making sounds like a pack of... Well... Chihuahuas, given their pitches and tones.

Tails flew back to the Tornado, which wasn't too far away, and came back with a satchel, which he was digging through, and produced a handful of what looked like Rings, but something was slightly off about them to be Rings... But couldn't quite be placed.

"Here!" Tails flew passed Chip and passed at least five to him as he made his way to Mephiles to shove some in his hands. "These are Dummy Rings! They work a bit like grenades, but instead explode into more of them and stuns the targets! It'll buy you time to think or get out of a tight spot!"

"What!" Mephiles was still recovering from the fact that he had barely been hit by the monster that caught him under the table, which was still trying to pull it's arm out of the crater it left. And now he was being handed an explosive device? What now?

Tails hardly had time to roll his eyes and just showed him by throwing one at the horned beast, releasing a shower of paralyzing Dummy Rings. The creature froze, quite close to literally, as sparks crackled through it's neon frame.

Then Tails hurried forward, dropped to the ground from the air, swung his tails around in a sweeping motion, and the monster dissipated as if the attack had cut it like a blade.

"Oh!" Mephiles said, now getting what the fake Rings were meant for. "I get it now! Thanks!"

Chip dropped one below himself, watching the Little Rexes all topple over on their backs when they could not shift their weights to balance themselves. It was about the only thing he could do, since he had no real attacks of his own, and even the smallest if Dark Gaia's creatures could swallow him whole.

"Hey! I got them stunned!" Chip shouted, hovering over the mass of spasming monsters.

Then one managed to recover and snapped up to catch Chip by his pompom tail, the impish dog having been a bit too close.

"Hey! Ahhh!" Chip cried out in surprise just as he was pulled down into the pile, his tiny hands grasping at the air in a feeble attempt to escape as the mass started to regain movement. "Help!"

Sonic watched helplessly as he had the massive monster he was fighting pinned to the ground.

Tails took to the air and hovered above the mass as he tried to grab Chip, who was beating his small wings as hard as he could to get free, reaching his tiny hands for Tails'.

"I can't reach you!" They both shouted, Tails unable to get closer as some of the Little Rexes that were now moving were jumping on top of each other to try and snap at Tails' spinning namesakes, leaving him no choice but to stay a safe distance or he'd be overwhelmed too. "Keep trying!" They both said again.

Mephiles was just staring, unsure of what to do. If he threw the Dummy Rings, he would risk paralyzing Tails and Chip. Sonic couldn't get to them, as he had his hands full at containing the biggest monster of this army they were facing right now. Tails couldn't get closer, and Chip was easily outmatched by the Rexes in combined strength.

He was the only one available. He knew it. And he absolutely dreaded what he knew he should do. But he had no other choice. He was the only one...

_... They are my friends now... And they've been looking after me when they really didn't need too..._ He reminded himself, justifying the reason why he had to do something when he was scared out of his mind. _... I haven't tried a Dark Spike in a long time, though..._

Chip shouted just as he was pulled into the mass completely, and that's all Mephiles needed to see to make up his mind.

Squeezing his hand into a fist as his eyes lit up with the glow of purple, he formed in his hand a Spike of energy as he readied his arm to throw it. When he did, he was surprised to see it split into three equal sized Spikes before hitting the mass. Several of the creatures exploded in a puff of purple smoke, but many of them did not and turned their eyes in the hedgehog, who was standing there in the same position as he had been after he threw the Dark Spikes.

"... Crud..." Was all he said as they started snarling at him. "... I expected something cooler... AHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed like a girl and threw his hands in the air and spun around to run as the Rexes shot off after him. He realized to late that he had thrown the Dummy Rings in the air in his panic, and knew that he was as doomed as a cat stuck in a dog yard.

Taking the risk at looking behind himself to at least see if Chip was alright, he skidded to a halt when he saw that his Dummy Rings had actually hit the swarm of Rexes, to which he started laughing out of pure relief.

"I am the luckiest hedgehog in the _world!_" He grinned, taking this as the time to defeat them, so that they didn't attack any of them like that again. He clapped his hand, formed an orb between them, grew it as big as he could (would have been bigger with Dark's help...), and flung it at them, repeating it until the last one evaporated. "I can't believe that worked! I mean-! Oh! Chip!" He suddenly remembered as to why he even started that in the first place and looked back to where the attack had began.

He was relieved to see the mauve fairy dog draped on Tails' head, wide eyed and panting with his pink tongue hanging out.

"Are you alright?" Mephiles asked, to which Chip responded with a thumbs up without so much as changing his expression. "I can't believe that worked out the way it did! I thought we were going to be doomed or something! First chance I get, I'm buying you chocolate!"

Chip's ears perked up at this.


	35. A year of typing on an iPod Wow

"_... I... I c-can't do this..._" Dark whispered, looking down the hall at the steps that led out of this floor.

The door above was practically wide open, and by all means, nothing was physically stopping him... It was just that he couldn't step near it without his insides squirming with discomfort, or his head feeling like it was what he imagined being filled with helium felt like, or his legs losing their ability to hold him upright, or his heart pounding so much he could hear the blood rushing in his ears, or the screams of fright chiming like a ghostly echo in the far corners of his mind, almost loud enough to fill his ears...

I think you get the idea.

He sounded rather breathless as he added, turning his eyes on Iblis as he shook his head and stepped back: "_... I-It's not going t-to happen... I c-can't get passed th-them..._"

"_So you're not even going to try?_"

"_No..._" Dark shook his head and turned around to retreat back to the bed, but Iblis caught him by the arm without looking. Dark froze, pupils shrinking considerably as sweat started to bead up on him. "_... N-No... I... No... St-stop..._"

"_You are not just going to give up like that._" Iblis growled in annoyance. "_I've seen how you act now. You only sleep on your side for fear of triggering nightmares. You avoid topics you don't want to discuss when it would actually help to do otherwise. You're slowly becoming afraid to even sleep._" Iblis pulled him a step forward as Dark struggled to move back. "_I know you have your reasons, but are you going to be afraid of something as simple as stairs for the rest of your life?_"

"_... Th-that sounds about right... Y-Yeah..._" Dark nodded desperately, the only reason he hadn't struck at Iblis yet was because his free hand was his hurt one, and so much as flexing his fingers were enough to cause the injury to erupt in pain. "_... It's not t-too much of a p-problem... A l-lot of p-places are one st-story buildings..._" Dark swallowed and did a terrible job at hiding his tremors. "_... N-no one would ever kn-know..._"

"_You have the opportunity to escape, right now._" Iblis gestured to the stairs, eyes narrowed in exasperation at Dark's constant excuses as to why he shouldn't. "_If this was months ago, you would have already found a way out, possibly stuck around a bit to mess with them, and went on your way._"

"_... A lot ch-changes when you've been th-thrown into an emotional, ph-physical and psychological blender of t-torture..._" Dark groaned, shaking his head. "_... Noth-thing like being c-constantly reminded of your insignificant impact t-to crush your spirits like glass..._"

Iblis knew he had a point. Regardless of how reasonable Dark tried to be about the situation, his primal fear was winning.

On one hand: it was just a set of steps leading to a higher floor.

On the other hand: it's a variant of something that had been used to issue physical punishment, and caused him to not only slip into an overnight coma, but also caused a hairline fracture in his skull that would contribute to his migraines over time as well. A fracture that would likely never completely heal.

"_... You can't be scared of them forever._"

"_Watch me._" Dark snorted defiantly, still trying to step and pull back. "_... N-Now please... I just want t-to go back where it's s-safe..._"

"_You know once it's decided, you'll be put back in the cell, right?_"

"_... Which is wh-why I want to enjoy the f-freedom._"

"_I'd hardly call that freedom if your still in a containment room._" Iblis pointed out, still moving forward. "_And if you just plan to lay around, that's really as far from taking advantage as you can get..._"

The little color left in Dark's muzzle drained quickly as he was now just inches away from the steps. He went completely rigid, staring in absolute horror at the top of them, and before long, his teeth were audibly chattering as his body started to shake. His eyes rounded in fear and his catlike pupils shrank to thin lines. Even the white patch of thicker fur on his chest was damp with sweat now.

"_... I-Iblis... P-Please... I'm not f-feeling well... St-stop it..._" He stammered pleadingly, looking as though he felt lightheaded and dizzy.

Then, without much warning at all, Dark sank to the floor in a dead faint, held up slightly by the arm Iblis had been holding onto.

Taking a moment to recover from the sudden action, staring blankly at the shadow before realizing what exactly happened, Iblis grasped Dark's upper arms, shook him carefully (as in trying not to shake him too hard), called out his name, and better examined him. Dark's breathing was rather quick and shallow, his head hanging limply and rolling with each shake like a ragdoll and he looked about as pale as he ever got.

_He wasn't messing around when he said he couldn't do it..._ Iblis said to himself, looking over at what had defeated Dark without even having the ability to move. _... He's seriously unable step near a flight of stairs without freaking out..._

Taking a moment to try and visualize what must have been going through Dark's mind moments prior to collapsing, he realized he had no idea how to do that, much less have anything to compare to get a clue as to why Dark wasn't able to rationalize that stairs weren't as horrifying as he felt about them.

Iblis knew why Dark was so adverse to being near them... But he was unable to comprehend how Dark could suffer from legitimate bathmophobia. The root of the problem was not the stairs themselves, but rather what used the stairs against him...

**_... He's associated stairs with his accident..._ **A secondary voice in his head offered as Iblis looked back at Dark.** _... If you had tried to drown him, he would have feared water... If you had tried to poison him, he would have feared pre-handled consumables... The point is, it was a very traumatic experience, and not enough time has passed for him to "get over it"..._**

_... But stairs can't actually attack you..._ Iblis tried making sense of Dark's logic. _... It's an inanimate object, really. They don't move. The only way to get hurt on them is... falling..._ Iblis blinked. _Oh... I see... And I threw him down them..._

**_After injuring him beforehand. And even earlier, having caused him to be put in the hospital to begin with._** The voice added. **_Consider this: he was already in some degree of pain from having his side torn into. He was not only disoriented from said pain, but also somewhat delirious on the pain medication he had been put on. By all means, it's a wonder he managed to leave the room in that state, but did so under the assumption he was supposed to warn them. In that state of mind, all he knew at the time being was that he was supposed to do what he did, and the only feedback he got was being dragged down the hall, attacked, and carelessly thrown into a stairwell to fall not one, but two flights. Not able to react as quickly as normal, his dull reflexes prevented him from defending his vulnerable places, such as his head, and was probably unconscious by the time he even hit the bottom._**

_... But I was the one that did it to him..._ Iblis reasoned. _By all means, he should be more afraid of me..._

**_That would make more sense... However, the sight of stairs resembling enough of the ones he fell down is enough to trigger the undiluted feeling of absolute helplessness that happened initially. That was when everything changed drastically for him... It'll always be hardwired into his brain from now on..._**

_... Just like when..?_

**_When you made him believe he was nothing more than a parasite..? Or when you told him he was a failed byproduct of Solaris..? Or when-?_**

_You can stop now. I get it._ Iblis growled mentally while easing Dark's arm around his shoulder and braced him to drag him back over to the bed in the room down the hall. Dark shuddered feverishly, but didn't open his eyes even a tiny bit, still just as limp as a ragdoll.

Once at the bed, he managed to get Dark back on without having anything happen to the injured wrist. Deciding to let Dark stay on his back (mainly because he wasn't sure how to get Dark's side sleeping position right), Iblis grabbed the extra pillows and carefully lifted Dark's right arm to push the pillows under to elevate it and keep as much strain off it as possible.

Dark groaned weakly, but only managed to shift his head a slight bit before exhaling a deep sigh and breathing more evenly, not even regaining an ounce of consciousness yet. A twitch settled in Dark's cheek, and a helpless faint whimper sounded from the back of his throat...

* * *

Dark was staring in dread at the massive terrarium-like object in from of him. The lid for it was made of the same glass-like material as the rest of it, but was chained down with many kinds of locks, ranging from various versions of combination locks, to padlocks, to storage locks... Nearly all kinds imaginable, all sizes, all weights, to keep whatever was in there... Well, in there.

"Take a good look, Dark." Dire said, putting his arm on Dark's shoulder as if he were a friend, making Dark's muscles tense up. "That's the old you in there. Took a while to find were you stuck the little beast, as he doesn't seem to qualify under your other emotions, so they probably don't know about him..."

Dark didn't quite get what Dire meant about "Other Emotions", but was shocked to see that horrible side of himself again.

Dark-Dark (for the sake of simplicity, let's just call the thing "Krad", which is "Dark" spelled backwards.) was currently nothing more than a swirling mass of shadows in the center of the large tank, but when Dire grinned and shoved Dark towards it, Krad immediately took solid form and slammed against the barrier head first, causing Dark to shout in shock and try to step backwards, unable to because Dire wouldn't let him.

Krad was practically identical to Dark in every way, of course, because it represented a part of Dark that Dark tried to forget. It was shaped like Dark, had the same eyes as Dark, the same height, weight, scragginess, scars, torn ear, thin frame... The visual similarities were nothing short of astounding.

However, how it differed was what really set the two versions of Dark apart. While Dark's true physical appearance had remained more or less the same over time, Krad looked as though a constant shadow of darkness was emanating from it's body. It's pupils were constantly shrunk and eyes wide from madness. It's head was continually tilting to the side every other minute as it pressed against the glass, lips stretched into a constant insane teeth bared grin...

It looked up and melted into it's base form, and started to throw itself at the walls and lid, shaking the tank as tried to break free, a wicked cackle filling the air, punctuated by each **THWACK!** sound, the cracked glass repairing itself at each blow.

"I have to say, I'm impressed at the effort you put into making sure it never got out again..." Dire fixed his eyes on a particular lock, which looked to be a simple tiny lock you would find on a child's diary, perhaps there to give that last bit of assurance of security that Dark had needed. "Locking it away the same way you fear would happen to you... Brilliant..."

"_Why are you showing me this..? I already knew it was here..._" Dark swallowed.

The shadowy creature in the cage dropped to the floor and changed form again, this time into something Dark hadn't "borrowed" a shadow from. The oily mass bubbled and stretched until it took on a nightmarish perversion of an Earth Wolf, it's form dark and shaded, toxic green eyes almost glowing, and slimy gobs of inky black rolling out of it's mouth like tainted drool that hissed and evaporated before even touching the ground. It's dark lips pulled back and bared it's white teeth, a start contrast to the shadowed tones of it's body. It's shaggy fur bristled down it's back, making it seem larger than it already was, which was easily taller than Dark at the shoulder.

Snarling like something rabid, it then proceeded to run into the barrier, each time causing a cracking sound and leaving a smear of an oily substance as if it had left it's own blood. All of this, right in Dark's direction.

The shadow hedgehog stared in total shock as his dark side continually beat it's own head into the barrier between them, to the point that the oily streaks were now dotted with deep red. It stumbled back, shaking it's head before glaring at Dark with the utmost loathing that was possible with it's lupine features before letting loose a deep snarl, and rammed itself into the wall, letting a yelp escape it, but nevertheless persisted.

"I wonder what would happen if I got all the locks off?" Dire contemplated as if he were simply asking to mix soda and ice cream.

Dark's pale muzzle turned legitimately white at that.

"_You don't understand... That thing would attack anyone for it's own amusement..._" Dark tried to explain, looking beyond horrified at the thought. "_You can't control it... _I_ could barely contain it... It was practically a nightmare getting it in that cage... It..._"

Dire looked very interested now, to Dark's dismay.

"You don't say?" Dire spoke over him, tilting his own head to the side. "Well, that certainly sounds entertaining..."

"_You don't understand!_" Dark shouted again, pulling away forcefully, gesturing to Krad. "_It's not just another personality! It's a... A monster! It's all the hatred and anger and pain and bad things that festered in my soul for a decade! I can't even control it! It's got a mind of it's own!_"

"Reeaaally?" Dire wasn't even looking at Dark now.

"_If you let it out, and it attaches back to me, then there's a problem!_" Dark was getting desperate in deterring him. "_Everything I know about right and wrong go out the window! I'll go completely mad! I could lose all my memories! You can't control it!_"

Dire's fingers touched a lock on one of the chains that was lower down where it was level with them. Dark completely lost all sense in himself and did what he hadn't been able to do during the ordeal...

He punched Dire in the jaw hard enough to knock the creature back, and stepped between him and the cage.

"_You took away my sleep... You took away my bravery..._" Dark growled, bristling his fur. "_You took away my hope that I'll be found... You took away my mental stability... But I will NOT let you take away my memories of Mephiles!_" Dark narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth while swiveling his ears back. He was shaking in silent fury, and was huffing breaths through his teeth.

Dire felt a hand to his jaw and made sure it wasn't busted, looking somewhat surprised.

"Wow... I'll admit I didn't expect that one." He said casually, shrugging. "But what are you so bent out of shape for? You said it 'might' make you lose your memories. Heck, you might go nuts and still remember, but just not care, even..."

Dark's glare deepened.

"Besides... Most of those locks would be tough to break anyway." Dire scratched his head, looking up at them. "Sixty numbers on the combination locks means well over three hundred combos each lock, with likely each being different. I can't pick key locks, so the best I can hope is to wear them away until they break. The small ones look flimsy enough, though. Point being..." Dire looked at him smugly. "I wouldn't be able to crack this safe anytime soon... You actually put some good thought and effort into keeping this thing in there. Self healing walls? Only something like that would work inside a mind, physics be danged..."

The creature in the tank suddenly fell to the floor like liquid, standing in a puddle form before bubbling and molding into another shape, this time something all more familiar.

It was hedgehog shaped, but had more a sleek charcoal black coat of fur, with grey-blue streaks of color marring it's arms, legs, quills and edges of it's eyes. It's irises were simply the same shade of green, but the sclera was a more normal white. The tuftless muzzle was the same pale cream as Dark's, and had the familiar thin frame body that Dark had when he actually fulfilled his physical needs. However, it's shape was more like Shadow's than Dark's.

No shoes, no socks, no gloves, no Rings... It's furry hands and feet showed the nails typical of such a digging mammal quite well this way. It looked somehow less like a Mobian and more animalistic, as it was now scratching feverishly at the corners of the tank.

This was the form of "Mephiles the Dark", of course. The similarities really stopped at just appearances, however. The mannerisms were more akin to a Non-Mobian creature, as it only seemed concerned with escaping. The only sounds it uttered were simple grunts and growls in tones resembling Dark's voice.

Dark stared at the creature in some form of unreal acknowledgment, unable to completely connect that he had been this... thing... once upon a time ago. He knew he had, but it was nothing more than a ghost of a nightmare to him.

Krad lifted it's head, tilting it to one side with almost a curious look in it's eyes, putting on it's innocent show as it sat crouched on the floor, it's hands bracing it as it leaned forward. Dark knew it was feigning innocence, but still reached a hand to the glass, taking a good look at it, letting it register that he had not been so far from that state many moons ago.

Suddenly, the caged beast warped it's form and threw itself at the glass, sliding down it as Dark jumped back, staring at the shaggy wolf again, the creature snarling at him dangerously. More unnerving was the fact that each vicious hit to the barrier that had seemed more rage driven was in the direction of Dark himself, as if it desired noting more than to break free for the sole reason to come after Dark, even if it had to bash it's own skull into the self repairing glass repeatedly to achieve it.

"Oh, shut up, you stupid mutt!" Dire snapped at it suddenly in a dangerous tone Dark had not heard from him yet, hitting the heel of his fist against the glass and astoundingly causing the dark creature to yelp and back away, lowering to the ground, ears back and tail curled under.

Dark stared in a mixture of bewilderment and horror before blinking, shaking his head and saying: "_It's faking it... It's playing you..._"

"Maybe... But I'm made of Shadow Energy too... We pride in yanking on each other's chain because it's how we work..." Dire tapped at the glass, before scraping a claw to it to cause a screeching noise that made Krad cringe and press to the floor, warping back into it's shadowed Dark form and clapping it's crystal hands to it's ears, looking as though the noise was grating on it's senses. "Worst case scenario is that it gets absorbed by Ol' Dee Gee and adds to his power... Oh, sorry... _Best_ case scenario for me, worst for you. Even if it attacks me, I can regenerate, and I'll put that thing in it's place like the inferior mangy animal it is..."

* * *

Shamar was hot and dry. The sun above baked at the three Mobians and the pixie dog, with Chip cooling off with a bowl of stretchy ice cream, Tails sitting on the edge of a small shallow shallow pool much like the rest that was in front of every other building, his shoes and socks off in a pile next to him as he set his feet in, Sonic splashing some of the water on his ears to cool off as he stood in the waist deep pool (waist deep to Sonic), and Mephiles cautiously approaching the water, staring at it, at Sonic, at Tails, then back at the water.

The young hedgehog was uncomfortable in the heat, but could not have the only available cold edible food item because he was allergic, and was very wary about actually stepping into water, certain he might have a panic attack despite it being a safe deepness.

Sonic held his breath and ducked under the surface, soaking his fur and quills completely and resurfacing to shake the water off, spraying it all over everyone.

"Hey!" Tails held his arms up to shield himself. "Not fair!"

"Hey, man, it's hot out! Water's not gonna hurt us!" Sonic laughed, before looking at Mephiles. "Aren't you a little hot? That extra fuzz looks like it doesn't help."

"... Yeah..." Mephiles looked back at him, folding his ears back. "... But I'm allergic to the ice cream, and the water... Well..." He trailed off and looked away.

"Nothing to be scared of." Sonic assured, shoving his hands through the air in a "C'mon, don't be silly!" kind of way. "I can't swim at all, but as long as I can keep my head above water and breathe, I'm alright."

"Easy for you, you can run on water." Tails added, kicking his foot to splash at Sonic.

"Point taken." Sonic shrugged. "Either way, there's water here, and you seem to be out of options to cool off."

"... I can't swim..."

"You can stand, can't you? It's waist deep, that's far from your head." Sonic reasoned. "It's not swimming, it's wading, really."

Mephiles looked very skeptical of the idea. He had his hand to his mouth and was biting down on the joint of his thumb, and he didn't look any more convinced than five minutes ago.

Tails took off his gloves and slid in too, the water more at his shoulders because of his smaller size.

"It's higher up on me and I'm not scared!" Tails added, taking Sonic's side on the matter.

"Th-that's not fair!" Mephiles sputtered, shaking his head. "My crystals weigh me down in water! You two are teaming up on me!"

"What if he had pool floaties and water wings..?" Sonic said to Tails, as his tone was lower.

"I dunno... With those sharp quills and crystals..." Tails said in the same tone, looking at him. "... Wouldn't they be a bad idea because inflatables might get popped?"

"Paddle board?"

"He'd have to hold on it the whole time... No hand freedom..."

"Innertube?"

"Some are durable, but it might pop with the sharp stuff, and could capsize..."

"Life vest?"

"In Shamar? Where would we find one?" Tails said with a hint of a laugh.

"Are... Are you laughing at me..?" Mephiles raised an eyebrow when he realized they were, and even Chip was joining in. He blinked, huffed and folded his arms and turned away.

"Aw, don't be so bent out about that..." Sonic apologized. "Next place we go to with water deeper than this, we'll get you a vest thingy so you'll feel safer."

"... What if doesn't work because of my crystals..?" Mephiles looked over his shoulder cautiously. "... I'm not very buoyant because of them... What if the vest can't compensate..?"

"If you fall in and it doesn't work, then I'll go in after you myself."

"But you said you can't swim..." Mephiles said, looking anxious. "How would that help if you can't save yourself..? Then we'd both drown..."

"I can swim!" Tails held a hand up, and waved. "I used to have to help Sonic out of those water traps Doctor Eggman stopped using, since it was obvious it couldn't stop us."

"Those bubbles are life savers, too..." Sonic added. "A lungful of air leaking through the cracks every half a minute or so... The real tricky part is getting your head in the bubble to breath before it floats too high up and you suck in water instead..."

Mephiles just stared.

* * *

_Wake up..._

_What's going on..? Where am I..?_

_Wake up... Wake up... Go away... Get back... Leave me alone... Wake up... Why aren't you waking up..?_

_Back off... Get away... Don't touch him... Can't take him from me... Wake up... Wake up... Please, open your eyes... Wake up... Wake up... Get up..._

_He's mine... Get away... Didn't do it... Wake up... Wake up... Don't do this... Go away... Wake up... Wake up... You can't take him..._

_No... No... No... No... Wake up... Wake up... Please... You promised nothing bad would happen... I'd never get hurt again... You promised... Wake up... If you don't wake up right now, you're breaking it... You're not supposed to break promises..._

_Wake up... Wake up... I know you can hear me... Wake up... Stupid hedgehog... Wake up... Wake up... I'm sorry... Really sorry... Wake up now... Wake up... What's wrong with him..?_

_MEPHILES! DON'T YOU DARE DIE ON ME! I'M NOT LOSING YOU AGAIN!_

* * *

At the last words, Dark jerked awake with a start, snorting and snuffing in a sense of dazed distress, lifting his head to look around blearily (as his eyes had not adjusted to the lighting yet), groping his good hand around for something stable to brace himself onto to pull himself up.

Iblis, who had been watching helplessly as Dark twitched and cried out weakly prior to awakening so suddenly, tossed his hands into the air no higher than his eyes, palms out, taking a step back, completely stunned at the reaction Dark was having right now.

When Dark's vocal ability returned to him, Dark managed to choke out something that sounded an awful lot like: "_... M-Mephy..?_"

Iblis lowered his arms slightly and stared with a furrowed brow, a look resembling but not necessarily disbelief on his face as Dark managed it again, this time in a louder and clearer tone, now attempting to get off the bed when it was obvious his brain hadn't completely woken up and given him his motor skills back, yet.

In other words, Dark was very likely to drop to the floor if he tried to stand, and if not, then he was going to stand there with shaky legs before falling, instead. Bad when you've already got a sprained wrist.

Iblis realized that and was quick to push him on his back again, Dark protesting loudly, still not totally aware of what was going on around him. Only one thing was on his mind at the moment, after all. And it didn't concern himself...

Eventually, Dark calmed down considerably before he got hurt, and he settled back down into a more comfortable resting position, on his side. Nuzzling into the pillow, he half hid his face behind his good hand (with one eye uncovered, which was looking down and away from Iblis) and sighed dejectedly.

Iblis stared at him, trying to figure out what exactly happened from the moment Dark woke up to now. Looking from side to side, up and down, and even diagonally, he was slowly piecing it together, realizing right away when he saw Dark's cheek was streaked with dark, wet trails, what it must have been.

"_... Dark... Did you have a bad dream..?_" Iblis tried in his best attempt at a gentle tone as he could muster (which was difficult for a guy who spent more of his life snapping at things, or mocking them...).

Dark's eyes rounded slightly and he looked at Iblis, confused at the behavior. Then, quite slowly, he nodded.

The flame approached him cautiously, wishing there was a chair he could use.

"_Do you want to talk about it..?_"

This time, Dark shook his head.

"_... Alright, I can't make you..._" Iblis said, shaking his head for a different reason. "_At least answer this: Was it about the hedgehog..?_"

Iblis would have been shocked if it wasn't, to be honest.

Dark, appearing bewildered, nodded hesitantly.

"_... It wasn't your fault..._" Iblis said, trying to reassure him, having a clue as to what the nightmare was about now.

Finally, Dark spoke up, this time in a timid voice.

"_... In this one... It sounded like I hurt him... But I didn't mean to..._"

"_... Sounded..? So you... Didn't see anything..?_" Iblis wasn't sure if that was better.

Dark shook his head again.

"_... But he wasn't okay... He wasn't waking up... And he..._" Dark trailed off before frowning slightly. "_If you're a figment of my mind, how do you not know this..?_"

He was raising a very good point.

Iblis shook his head, and Dark could have sworn he was a small smile he had never seen from him before.

"_It's late... Just go back to sleep, Dark..._" Iblis said softly, reaching over to wipe off standing tears that had yet to fall from his cheek, Dark's face flushing from awkwardness. "_... I'll be here when you wake up..._"

"_... Well, duh... You haven't stopped bugging me since you showed up..._" Dark grunted, turning his head to hide the redness in his face.

Iblis backed off at this.

"_I'm bugging you..?_" He sounded a bit hurt when he said that.

"_... Not all the time... I'm more annoyed that you disappear when someone else shows up..._" Dark mumbled, trying to stifle a yawn. "_... Of course, if you're not real, then that's to be expected..._"

"_... Uh... huh..._" Iblis rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the cheap ceiling.


	36. Don't think the comp will be fixed soon

Dark sneezed, which woke himself up again, making him lift his head and look around the room blearily.

"_... You still up..?_"

He didn't even have to look to see who it was.

"_... You ever sleep..?_" He countered in a slight bit of annoyance.

"_You ever stop asking so many questions..?_" There was a bit of a laugh in Iblis' voice at this.

"_... I'm not that bad... Am I..?_" Dark blinked, thought for a moment and cursed under his breath. "_... Alright, maybe I am a bit inquisitive..._" He grunted, wiping his nose, which was somewhat dribbly. "_... What time is it, anyway..?_"

"_Three-twelve in the morning, if that clock on the wall is right..._" Iblis looked over his shoulder at it, which had the hands and important numbers in a dim glow in the dark fashion. "_... You've only been asleep a couple hours at most. You really should try and fall back asleep soon, it's as quiet as I've ever heard it here..._"

"_It's always quiet unless I'm being bugged by that Human and his robots..._" Dark reminded him, rolling his eyes. "_... Always so boring... Got nothing to do, perfectly good brain power wasting away to insanity..._" He huffed, putting his head back on the pillow.

Then he lifted his head again, frowning slightly. He could see something rather well in the dark, given his good night vision ability, having eyes that worked much like a cat's.

"_... How long has that been over there..?_" He said slowly, lifting his good hand and pointing to an otherwise empty shelf on a scarcely filled bookcase on the adjacent wall.

"_... What?_"

"_... That fox doll... Third shelf, to the right, next to the fake plant..._"

"_... Honestly, I haven't noticed it before... Kinda creepy how it seems to be staring at you..._"

"_It's just a doll. A badly made one at that... Looks nothing like a Mobian Fox, to be honest..._" Dark looked at Iblis, a bit smug at how unfazed by it he was.

"_... Something's kinda strange about it..._"

"_Don't tell me you of all people are afraid of a stuffed toy?_" Dark was actually amused at this.

"_Oh, stop. I'm not afraid of it, it's just that it doesn't seem to fit into the scene very well..._"

"_Scene? You say that like this is a story someone's reading..._" Dark pushed himself up from the bed to sit up. "_It's probably just a weak attempt at decorating._" He carefully got up and crossed the room to the self, and snatched up the doll and brought it back over, holding it up by an arm. Now both of the could see that it was orange, had two tails, bear-like ears and floppy little arms and legs."_See?_"

The red gem on it's head flickered.

"_Uh... Dark..?_" Iblis reached up his hand to point, and Dark looked back at the doll, which was now looking up directly at him, even though it was obvious before that the head had been stitched to face another direction.

"_Yah!_" Dark shouted in surprise, tossing the doll back and taking a step away, staring at it cautiously now as the toy lay on the floor in a heap.

"_Who's scared of it now?_" Iblis half joked, earning a glare from the frailer twin.

"_I wasn't scared..._" Dark growled, folding his ears back.

"_You screamed._"

"_Actually, I yelled. Different. Besides..._" Dark snorted through his nose. "_You're the one freaking out over the stupid thing._"

"I'm not stupid!"

Both elements' eyes shot wide open at that voice and froze. It was neither one of theirs...

Dark slowly turned his attention back to the doll he had thrown on the floor and found it not on the floor, but actually hovering at least three feet above it, nearly eye level with Dark, the red gem on it's head now glowing.

It hovered closer to him, getting just hardly an inch from his face, bobbing up and down in the air, defying everything Dark knew about the basic laws of physics as far as it being a flying, talking doll went.

He just decided since he was going insane anyway, that he shouldn't be concerned with the physics behind a hovering vocal enabled toy, as nothing else made much sense anymore anyway.

"... Hiya."

"_... I'd like to scream now... Is that okay..?_" Dark said in a far off sort of way, looking as though everything in his mind just came to a screeching halt into a brick wall. He giggled in a weak tone, flickering an ear even. "_Because I'm not sure when it's okay anymore, Mr. Talking Fox Doll Flying Thing Sir, nice, ahhhhh..._"

"You're kinda weird..." The toy giggled, the red gem's glow brightening as it did.

"_Of course... The talking fox doll flying thing is telling me I'M weird... Yeah, sure, why not..?_" The lower eyelid of one eye lifted up and twitched.

"I'm Tails Doll, but some people call me TD for short." Tails Doll hovered around Dark in a circle, Dark following him by turning in a circle himself. "I've heard of you... You're the reason Metal can't talk anymore..." The doll tilted it's head.

Dark didn't speak back.

"Whatcha doing down here for? You don't look hurt except for the hand there..."

Dark blinked, still looking as though he was absolutely certain he must have hit his head one too many times.

"You won't tear me up, will you? I'm just made of fabric and stuffing, among other things..." Tails Doll then hovered just out of reach, Dark looking upward at it with the same expression. "... Are you just going to gawk at me like that, or are you going to say something?"

"_... I... I have nothing to say... I'm talking to a doll... Ooooh, dear..._" Dark giggled nervously, swaying slightly as he did.

"Can't be any worse than what you were talking to before..."

Dark's pupils shrank a bit.

"_... You saw him, too..?_" He whispered, looking startled.

"You have no idea what I can do..." The doll said almost cryptically in a suddenly serious tone, lowering from the air to hang in front of Dark's face. "Nobody ever does... They never notice me, and if they do, they just see that I'm a toy..."

"_..._"

"..."

"_... Whaaa..?_" Dark managed to vocalize in a squeakier tone than normal.

Suddenly, the doll shrieked with laughter, moving around almost excitedly in the air, cloth limbs flailing around from momentum.

"You should have seen your face!" It snorted. "I'd try to imitate it myself, but I don't have facial features, seeing that I'm a plush doll! Ha!"

"_... Please, I am on what I think is the verge of another nervous breakdown, and I would appreciate it very much if you didn't poke fun at me like that, because that is NOT helping, and... And..._" Dark sputtered after practically babbling. "_... And I'm talking to a doll... I am talking WITH a doll... Oh, no... No, no, no, no, no... Nuh-uh.. Wooo..._"

"You must be really bored down here..." Tails Doll added, now staying in place. "There is a television, y'know... You might want to take advantage of that before you go back to your cell."

"_... Seriously..?_" Dark's ears perked forward. He knew a television was for watching programs on a screen, often when in search of something less boring, though he had never jumped into the idea as much as Mephy did. Still, the prospect of some form of technology that could stimulate his mind, perhaps in the form of a series episode or some fictional story, sparked a moment of normality in him. TV was normal... And he could use it. Wonderful...

To his astonishment, it was a flat screen, something he had never seen before (as back at the house, they still had an older tube television possibly manufactured around the time Dark had been created, if the faded sticker on the back was a clear guess on time.). He was instantly drawn to how slim it was, able to be hung up on the wall like a picture frame, whereas the one back at the house had to be put on a short cobby table and easily took up more space than this one did. It wasn't even square, but rather a rectangle, and the screen was not made of glass.

Clicking the buttons in the remote that had been on sitting on the shelf the doll had been, Dark got his first use of TV since at least three weeks ago. He didn't know what would be good to watch, but he didn't care, honestly, so long as it was something to do other than stare blankly at the wall or ceiling in a daze.

"Oh, this is a good movie!" Tails Doll said for the first time since he told Dark about the inconspicuously displayed device. "It's a classic, really, but it's still great. Looks like it just started, too. Odd, since it's kinda late to be playing it now... Maybe because we get the Eastern Feed, or something..."

"_... Huhn..._" Dark grunted, not sure if this animated program that seemed to be displaying nearly every animal that could exist on the savannah at the moment converging to one spot was really as spectacular as it was described.

Immediately, when he realized that another language completely was mixed in with the lyrics of the opening, and was even one his brain could not actively translate for him (Dark's brain could roughly translate many old languages, such as Latin, enough to get the gist of the subject, but he seemed to be more skilled with those his own language was rooted to, and not this one...), and yet seemed so... captivating... He slowly set the remote down on the side table, and inched backwards to the bed to sit down and watch it.

Once Tails Doll hovered out of the room and supposedly down the hall and up the stairs, leaving Dark alone, Iblis finally made himself known again.

"_What is that thing?_" He said, gesturing to the TV.

"_Television, also called TV. It's something you can use to entertain yourself..._" Dark broke his stare from the tiny lion cub being lifted into the air by the strange baboon/mandrill hybrid (Dark could tell, as real mandrill lacked a tail, which this one had...). "_It's really not too complicated, and really easy to figure out. What I'm looking at now is an animated movie, which was drawn out, music and voices were added and synced to the images... It's a story._"

"_What's the story about..?_"

"_I don't know... I haven't seen this before..._" Dark said with a tone indicating that he was getting annoyed, before looking back at the screen.

For roughly the next two hours, the twin elements watched this movie. Dark was more engaged in the story than Iblis.

"_You do realize it's not real, right?_" Iblis said boredly as Dark stared in absolute shock at the sudden turn of events as the father lion was thrown to his death by his own younger brother. Dark had been certain that the larger lion was going to live, given it was much larger and was a nicer soul than the bitter little brother who had obviously gone mad from many untold events that led up to this, if his song on preparing for this moment was any indication.

"_No remorse! Did you see that! Not one bit of it, even in his eyes!_" Dark shouted, gesturing furiously at the TV. "_And the big one, did you see how horrified he was! Not scared, but more like he couldn't believe his own brother had turned on him!_"

Iblis stared at him oddly, rolling his eyes and shaking his head before looking back at the screen.

* * *

Elsewhere, back in Shamar, Mephiles was asleep in the back of the Tornado as Sonic and Tails reviewed the possible places to find the key needed to get into the next Gaia temple.

"It looks like these are the only places we can get to at night..." Tails circled them on the map. "Given our experience, I'd have to say the ruins over here or the caverns would be a good place to look first..."

Sonic nodded, looking in the direction of the ruins.

"Seems like a lot of those creatures are grouping over there..." He noted as Chip stared with him. "They could be guarding it..."

"Or just doing that to throw us off..."

"They don't seem that smart..."

The three of them then perked their ears up at a soft cry of fright that reached them. Looking at each other in confusion, they heard it again, this time more pronounced, and realized it must have been from the hedgehog asleep in the back of the plane.

Looking in the back, they could see Mephiles was still curled up on his side (although moreso) as he had been minutes before, but tears had run along the bridge of his nose (because of gravity pulling them down that way because of the way he was laying down.), and he was biting his lower lip as his eyes were squeezed shut tightly. The poor hedgehog was even shaking uncontrollably, despite it being a warm night.

"... He looks like he's still asleep..." Sonic noted, sounding somewhat concerned. "I don't see how, if he's that upset..."

"Rouge warned me about this when she was explaining about what to expect with him..." Tails said, looking back at Sonic. "... He has night terrors very often, and the best you can do is just try to calm him down... Most of the time he won't remember it by morning, so even he doesn't know what they're about often..."

Sonic nodded slowly just as Mephiles let out a wail of terror that melted into sobs, the crystal one still managing to remain asleep this entire time. Even in the werehog form, with angled eyes and more pronounced canines, Sonic still was able to appear anxious for him as much as Tails and Chip were.

"Let me try something..." He said, stepping over to the rear end of the Tornado and reaching in to pull the not-quite-pre-teen, distraught and still unconscious hedgehog out. Supporting him the way an older sibling might, he waited for Mephiles to calm down, as the hedgehog was now fighting back feverishly despite having not yet opened his eyes even. Sonic simply kept his arms pinned gently (an easy task as a shaggy Hedge-wolf, to be honest...) so Mephiles didn't hurt either of them unintentionally, since those crystal claws of his posed a possible hazard if the young hedgehog started to flail.

It took a few minutes, maybe more, but Mephiles finally started to settle down and he slumped against Sonic, falling back into total slumber without ever knowing he had been troubled like that, that time. Sonic waited to see if he was going to start stirring again, but Mephiles only shifted to be more comfortable, holding his hands inward and curling them into lightly held fists to keep his claws safely hidden away (an instinct he had developed a long time ago.). His ears were now drooped forward in a more natural position rather than pinned back in fear, and the fearful look in his features disappeared as well.

Once Sonic was sure he wasn't so tense anymore, he set him back down, Tails looking at him and asking as the younger hedgehog settled in more comfortably and peacefully: "How did you know that would work?"

"He's not the first kid with nightmares I've had to calm down before..."

"..."

"..."

"... Oh..."

* * *

The movie finished after about an hour or so of staring, and needless to say, Dark was surprisingly impressed with it.

"_... It's sad, though..._" He said quietly, not taking his eyes of the screen as the more piano based reprisal of the theme played with the credits. "_... It's not shown directly, but it can be interpreted that Scar and his brother were very close early in life, and perhaps factors beyond their control drove one to madness while the other was unaware of it until it was too late..._" He blinked and looked at the floor. "_... The line... 'Till we find our place on the path unwinding'... It seems like everyone had a place but him in the end..._"

"_Probably because the hyenas ate him alive..._"

"_... That was actually surprisingly morbid compared to the tone of the rest of the movie... even if you only saw the shadows on the rock..._" Dark muttered. "_He had a few chances to change and be good, but..._"

"_You realize he's not real, right?_" Iblis shook his head, interrupting Dark. "_It's getting close to five, and that's about when the sun gets up... You really need to try and rest, it you want to use your voice the right way soon..._"

"_Even if the sun comes up, there's no windows, so the light isn't a problem..._" Dark countered with reluctance.

"_You've only slept a total of five hours in the past twenty four..._" Iblis pressured. "_And you're sick, which can be alleviated if you rest. Now, shut that thing off and go to sleep._"

"_You're closer to the remote... You do it..._"

"_I hardly know how to work the thing._" Iblis shrugged. "_Besides, I might set on fire if it frustrates me enough..._"

Dark blinked, frowned slightly in thought before picking up the remote and shutting off the thing just as it started up another program.

"_Fine... You win..._" He huffed.

* * *

Sympathy's eyes flickered for a moment, showing a faint spark of emotion as he inhaled sharply before gradually returning to being dead on the inside, staring without much meaning once more, before looking at Rage quite stoically, and saying in a flat tone: "_... There might be hope after all... What ever Dark is doing is conjuring contemplative feelings that require my interaction, even if slightly..._"

Rage just stared, not understanding what he just said.

"_... I'm not completely disconnected... Just in hardly accessible stand-by..._" Sympathy continued in the same lifeless tone.

If Rage was relieved, he didn't break character to show it.

"_Then Dark needs to keep doing that..._" He said, folding his arms.

Sympathy would have smiled slightly at the other's way of handling things, if his very essence could reach his body. His core, deep down, could feel just the same, but as a disconnected emotion, he was experiencing on a grand scale what Dark did on occasion... Inability to express.

* * *

Shadow looked up from the paperwork he was filing, appearing very annoyed.

"Did everyone here learn penmanship from a doctor or what..?" He huffed, tilting his head back and groaning in frustration as he pressed a hand to his face. "At the very least, simple printing each of letter separately or writing it out on the computer would be much easier on me..." He picked up the next sheet in the pile and glared. "And who used Comic Sans? That's not even professional looking! It doesn't even look good on comics!"

"Shadow... Remember the stress ball..." Rouge reminded him carefully as Shadow snatched up the ball and squeezed it repeatedly to the point of distorting the smiling little planet replica almost comically, eyes bugging out between his fingers.

"Why can't I just go out on the field..?" He said, as the stress ball squeaked.

"None of the vehicles available right now are non-lethal..." Rouge said, shaking her head slightly. "And considering how trigger happy you got with the armored buggy last time, we can't afford to keep up with your wasteful ammo consumption..."

"So I signed my name into a cliff wall with the bullets, so what?" Shadow really didn't see how this was an issue. "Everyone's done it at least once around here."

"And you do it nearly every time you go out on the field..." Rouge disappeared behind her nearby cubicle wall and peaked over the top of the wall against the side of Shadow's with the computer. "And it's not just 'Shadow was here'... More like a boast of how awesome you think you are... Which takes a few reloads at the very least..."

"Well, I'm sure as heck not gonna shoot at someone I could easily take out with my own skills." Shadow admitted, hand still squeezed around the ball. "And most of the time, we don't really need to use the guns if we take a moment to properly assess the situation and think it through... Besides..." He added. "What are you worried about? You don't even use any of the weapons other than those pink grenades and the girly looking C-4s..."

A passing human coworker, who was so decked out in armor garb you couldn't see much of who he was, dropped a small stack of papers in the box next to Shadow, who picked it up and scanned his eyes over it quickly.

"Hey... Griffith..? You're new here, right..?" He said dangerously sweet, grinning as the human stopped and looked at him. "Is this the font you use regularly?"

"Griffith" nodded slowly, and a second later, the stress ball hit him in the head with enough force to actually knock him over, much to the surprise of the female bat watching.

"... Stupid noob..." Shadow snorted and went back to his filing.


	37. Eh Another Chapter on an iPod?

Dark woke up after a good while, learning that he had actually managed to rest for a good six hours without interruption, which surprised him greatly for two reasons: 1) That was currently his record of most consecutive hours in the past month without something causing him to wake up in a panic or daze and 2) He was convinced Dire would have tried something, as the little monster seemed to feed off of Dark's discomfort and paranoia.

Six hours wasn't really the ideal amount of time that such an insomniac needed to counter his exhaustion, but it was easily enough to help Dark's brain to not be so fatigued along with his body.

He would have more than gladly wanted to continue this temporary luxury, if not for the fact that the slight gnawing and burning sensation in his stomach had gotten somewhat distracting, and was preventing him from easily falling back asleep again.

Almost stupidly, he wondered why it was such problem, and then realized that it could very well be because he hadn't really eaten much in two days as of now.

Almost immediately he noticed a factory sealed bag of rice cakes left on a tray next to an unopened bottle of water, a packet of what claimed to be something to add to the water to flavor it if desired, and a note that read: "Perishables have been moved to the fridge."

Dark looked around before realizing the "fridge" was actually quite small compared to what he had seen before (identifiable by a post-it note stuck to it clearly labeled "THE FRIDGE") and once he was able to pull the door open with his good hand at a comfortable angle, he found that said "perishables" was a medium sized plastic lidded bowl with various cuts of fruit, such as apples slices, pineapple cubes, de-vined grapes, banana chunks, small watermelon wedges, honeydew squares, and, much to Dark immense joy, cantaloupe pieces.

Dark was quick to pluck out a piece and shove the orange-golden melon into his mouth and sink to the floor, hiding behind the side of the bed and clutching the bowl like a kid who just stole a box of Oreos from the cupboard.

"_Alright, now how is it that I couldn't get you to willingly eat a even a bite of a banana so that you didn't starve..._" Iblis' voice sounded off behind him. "_But here you are, eating without a problem at all. What happened?_"

Dark looked over his shoulder and up to find Iblis leaning over the edge of the bed to look at him, appearing quite baffled. Dark's pale face darkened in embarrassment a little.

"_... I like this kind of fruit..._" He muttered, shaking his head slowly before looking back down at the bowl and poking around at the contents, looking as though he was ashamed of the idea, oddly. He then extracted another piece of the melon and stuck it in his mouth and chewed it slowly this time, as if waiting to have to react fast to something he was anxious about. What that was exactly, Iblis wasn't sure.

"_It's not a question as to whether or not you like it..._" Iblis shook his head slightly, folding his arms in front of him and resting his head on them while continuing to look at Dark. "_It's more a query of why the sudden interest when yesterday, you were practically avoiding it..._"

"_I suppose you wouldn't realize the extent of how drained I was after you tried to get me near those stairs..._" The shadow growled darkly, bristling his fur on his shoulders and back. "_You'd be surprised of the effect psychological torment has on a person... Especially when confronting a source of fear so soon after a traumatizing event..._"

"_Hey, all I was saying was that I found it absolutely baffling that the door is wide open, no one is monitoring the halls, the way out is about as easy as it gets..._" Iblis explained the concept again to him. "_... And you haven't taken advantage of trying to-_"

"_To what, exactly?_" Dark snapped at him irritably. "_If, by some miracle granted by Chaos, I manage to get passed the stairs and somehow not go into some fear induced shock, I don't know the way out of here. Furthermore, if I do manage to get that far, and I get caught, I doubt I'd still have what little privileges I have right now, afterwards. And, lest I forget, where, exactly, would I go if I did get out, hmm?_" Dark huffed angrily, glaring at the wall ahead of him. "_Without Mephy, I don't belong _any_where other than under lockdown as a dangerous artifact, as I doubt Shadow would allow me to remain at the house for the reasons of he hates me, he'll undoubtedly put me at fault for what happened to Mephy, and a host of other reasons that quite frankly, I don't bl-_"

"_Okay... Dark... _breathe..." Iblis cut across him, as Dark had started to string his words together as one stream of speech in one breath, his voice raising slightly in pitch as he had started to run out of air in his lungs to form sounds and didn't seem to mind enough to correct it with a quick inhale. "_Don't try and say it all on one breath, especially while you're still sick... or you'll make yourself dizzy, or whatever happens when that happens. Calm down._"

"_Don't tell me what to do!_" Dark lashed out, jumping to his feet, turning around and stepping away to be a few feet away, pointing at the other furiously with the uninjured hand. "_I swear to Chaos, everyone is always telling me what I should and shouldn't do! I know! I'm not an idiot!_"

Iblis blinked in confusion. He was quick to compose himself, and changed his position on the bed to be that of a sitting posture.

"_You misread..._" He said calmly, contrasting Dark, who was breathing heavily in rage. "_I was merely commenting on that so that you didn't further upset yourself..._"

"_Why do you care! You're not even real!_" Dark shot back, trembling in fury now.

Iblis's eyes widened just slightly before narrowing even more than they had before as he folded his arms again.

"_Y'know... I don't_ have_ to be here..._" He snarled at him lowly, swiveling his ears back. "_And you seem you couldn't care less if I was or wasn't..._"

The only response was getting the sealed water bottle thrown at him.

"_That's it! I give up!_" Iblis shouted furiously, throwing his hands in the air, and getting to his feet. "_I've been trying as hard as I can to get you back on a more calm level, and try and get you to stop ignoring your needs, and even put up with getting backhanded more times than I can count! You want to starve yourself while angsting? Fine! Go ahead, see if I care! Goodbye, you spoiled brat!_"

This response actually stunned Dark noticeably.

"_... Wha-what..?_" He stammered in a considerably lower tone as Iblis actually made his way to the door. "_... I-I don't... Wh-what..?_"

"_You want me to leave you alone? Fine. At least it'll be one thing I can do that'll make you happy..._" Iblis said in a dangerously calm voice, holding his eyebrows in the air while still keeping his eyes narrowed. "_All I can say is that I'm sorry for messing you up so much, but you're not even trying to overcome that... I might have hurt you... But you refuse to let yourself heal..._"

The closer Iblis had gotten to the door, the more and more sickly pale Dark's muzzle had gotten from shock. His body started to quiver in terror as the air started to seem too thick to breathe in. His heart pounded furiously enough that each quick but heavy breath was synchronized to it subconsciously. Darkness started to creep into the edges of his vision while his brain reeled nauseatingly with this simple fact: Iblis was going to leave him... Again.

...

...

...

...

...

What ever had been bending and tweaking inside Dark in the past month, finally snapped clean in half like a piece of plastic.

"... Did I do something wrong, Brother..? I didn't mean to anger you..."

Iblis froze at the doorway, then spun around, eyes wide. Not only did he know quite clearly where he had heard that before, but he knew what it usually meant if Dark's voice had lost the growl.

Dark was swaying slightly, his eyes were more than half closed, his left hand gripping his not torn ear as he giggled nervously, smiling weakly and having a far off stare before suddenly appearing and sounding very panicked.

"I'm sorry, Brother! I-I was just curious! I know you don't want me near the Edge, but I wanted to see why!" He shook his head feverishly, trembling too much to stand upright and sank to the ground almost immediately. "Brother! _Please!_ I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you mad! I've been trying to make you happy again! You're never happy anymore, and I-I miss that!"

Iblis was pretty sure Dark wasn't really aware of anything relative to the two of them in this room right now. He was even more sure that Dark's mind wasn't even in this year, more or less, as the shadow was having a, for lack of a better term, flashback.

"Brother! Don't go! Please! I'm sorry! Don't leave me! I don't want to be alone! Please!" Dark actually in tears, hunched over on the floor as he shuddered and howled miserably, pulling at his quills with the hand that wasn't sprained. "I'll do what you say! I'll stay away from the Edge! Whatever you want! I won't mess up again! One more chance, please! Brother! Don't leave me!"

Then he sniffled loudly, gasping for air as he repeated the last three sentences in varying order and coherency.

_... Aw, crud..._ Iblis was frozen in place as the creeping black darkness from before started to spread from where Dark was and engulf the room at an alarming rate. _... No... No... No no no no no-no-no-no-NO-NO-NO-(*I'd like to add a bleep sound here...*)!_

The curse word appeared in his mind just as soon as the only way out was saturated with so much of the inky substance that it was clearly impossible to try and step past it and hope that you won't get caught by it.

"_Dark! Stop this right now!_" He shouted, immediately conjuring a ball of flames in cupped hands, and holding it in front of him to ward off the approaching mass. "_You don't realize what this-!_" Iblis stopped in mid-sentence when he realized he couldn't see where Dark was now. "_Dark? Dark!_"

The sticky black goo tried to adhere to him, so he flared his Aura, hoping to repel it briefly, as he knew he couldn't afford to expend his energy when he didn't know how long it could take or if he could even be able to calm Dark down.

"_Dark! Where are you!_" The flame called out, straining his eyes to distinguish the depth perception of every black coated object in the room, which, from where he was standing, gave the illusion of a void to his eyes.

The crying out and pleading from the shadow had died out several minutes beforehand, and was replaced with harsh gasping and uneven breaths, as if he were having a panic attack right now.

"_Dark! I can't see you!_" Iblis had forgotten all about leaving Dark alone and felt the need to find him before he got hurt. "_Can you hear me! Where are you!_"

There was a feeble reply, which sounded somewhat muffled, and because of that, Iblis didn't hear him clearly enough.

"_What!_"

"_... C-can't... Br-breathe..._" A weak but terrified squeak sounded off in a shrill tone.

Iblis spun in circles to try and find anything that would help him find Dark, who was undoubtedly unaware of what was mostly happening, and therefore of no help in locating his own placement in the pitch black, inky and now chilling darkness of the uncontrollable element of shadows.

The oily substance rolled towards Iblis, who instinctively threw the fireball at it, cursing quickly and conjuring a slightly smaller one this time.

_Well, that was stupid..._ He berated himself before stepping back and bumping into something he didn't see before: an dark opaque cocoon-like dome that was obviously surrounding something.

It was quick to stick to him, and he flared the heat Aura briefly to pull free, already feeling a ghost of fatigue setting in.

_I need to calm him down before either I waste all my current energy reserves, or he suffocates..._ He forced his eyes open a bit wider and tried to ignore the soft buzzing in his ears. _I'm very sure he's in this whatever this is, and I just have to get to him... How, I don't really know..._

"_I think I've found where you might be! Can you hear me?_" Iblis called out to him, hoping he could pinpoint the sound of his voice relative to location. "_I need you to breathe in and out slowly, you get it?_"

"_... C-can't... Hurts..._" Dark responded in a cracked tone, moaning weakly as Iblis examined the cocoon, horrified to see that it had no weak spots.

"_I don't know how much you understand right now..._" The flame explained carefully, getting desperate. "_But I can't get passed this barrier! This stuff keeps trying to stick to me!_"

He got too close to it, and the substance seized his arm that didn't hold the flame, causing him to shout in shock and fight back. He pulled at it as hard as he could, but he was already entrapped. The next mistake he did was drop the ball of light and brace his other hand against the barrier instinctively, which caused his other hand to be caught as well, prompting him to let loose a stream of colorful curses.

Convinced he was going to be snuffed out right here, right now, Iblis allowed himself one scream of terror, realizing now was just as good of time as any, and he probably would never get the chance to legitimately do it anyway otherwise.

He felt something pull him in and through the shadowy cocoon, and he was just so completely mindscrewed by all of this, he didn't bother to think of any logic behind this. Heck, the whole past ten minutes alone threw any sensible meaning out the window, really...

After repeating to himself over and over again how utterly doomed he was, he lifted his arms slowly away from his head and realized that nothing was sticking to him anymore. He couldn't see jack squat, mind you, but he at least didn't feel anything trying to stick to him.

_Alright... Either I've been miraculously spared... I've just gone blind and my nerve endings are dead... Or I'm completely dead right now and can't feel anything because dead doesn't feel..._ He ran over the list of options as he lowered his arms to rest at his sides, knowing his was sitting awkwardly anyway. He felt something get brushed by his hand. _... Or, y'know... I could be trapped in this cocoon with a delusional and panicking Dark, who's about as dangerous if not more than a rabid animal right now in this state, either to me, himself or the both of us at once..._

He didn't want to risk burning up whatever amount of oxygen was in the dome, since he didn't know if it was airtight or now, so he couldn't see even the bridge of his nose in front of his eyes. He could at least hear the wheezy breaths from the shadow, who seemed to be not too far in front of him, so he carefully reached out and was able to touch a hand to what felt like a clump of quills, which prompted a shriek from the owner of them, who pulled away quickly.

"_Hey! Chill! It's just me!_" Iblis snapped, trying to speak over Dark's howls, who now seemed to realize that it was pitch black, and immediately started to scream for help. Iblis was sure he lost the ability to hear a few sound frequencies when one particular shout left his ears ringing.

Suddenly, it stopped, and something made what must have been Dark's retinas shine back a flash of blue, and Dark inhaled sharply, before saying in a small voice: "_... Y-your eyes are g-glowing..._"

"_... Eh..?_" Iblis blinked, as he was actually unaware of that ability.

"_... Y-your Aura... M-makes your eyes g-glow..._" Dark stuttered, moving closer carefully as he still tried to catch his breath. "_... Only in th-the d-dark... Mine j-just ref-flect... C-can't see in t-total d-darkness without..._"

"_Well, I only see your eyes reflecting... Other than that, I can't see you..._"

"_... I c-can see you..._" Dark said numbly, still sounding out of breath. "_... You h-haven't left yet..._"

"_Is that what this is all about..?_" Iblis asked, wondering if the idea of it had caused Dark to have a total nervous breakdown. The glow reflection shifted away for a moment.

"_... Y-you haven't left yet..._" Dark sounded as if he was trying to reassure himself, and didn't quite answer Iblis, who reached out cautiously and touched his shoulder, causing the reflective eye spots to look back at him in a snap.

"_I take it back... I'm not going to now..._" Iblis tried to reassure him, but he was shoved back.

"_You did it before, you'll do it again!_" Dark snapped, sounding as though his voice raised a few pitches. "_Everything always leaves me, whether they want to or not! I can't have anything!_"

_... Oh, what did I cause..?_ Iblis questioned himself before trying another tactic.

"_Dark... I'm going to ask you to try something, and you get the choice of doing so or declining..._" The flame offered, wondering if Dark would be more willing to calm down if instead of being told that he had to, he was given the option to decide for himself. The reflective eyes stared back at him before moving slightly up and down as if Dark was nodding slowly. "_Alright... Let's try something for a moment... Do you think you can disregard (just for the moment!) what happened before and focus on the now..?_" He explained carefully, trying his best not to sound too demanding. "_... What was it that monkey said in that movie you watched..?_"

Suddenly, he felt something strike him hard on the top of his head, and he shouted in pain, before asking why Dark did that.

"_It doesn't matter! It's in the past!_" Dark responded in a slight laugh before adding: "_Hurts, doesn't it? Kinda hard to forget..._"

"_Hit me that hard again, and I _might_ forget something..._" Iblis grunted in annoyance, pressing his hand to his sore spot. "_... I take it you're feeling a bit better, at least..?_"

"_... Where are we..?_" Dark sounded very nervous now, no doubt because of the pitch blackness all around.

"_I was kinda hoping you'd tell me..._" The flame muttered.

"_Me..? Why me..?_" Dark was very confused.

"_... You don't remember what just happened, do you..?_" Iblis said in a slight bit of worry. He had his own theory, but he wanted to see what Dark thought about this first.

"_... N-no..._" Dark stammered in a small voice, lowering to the ground slightly.

"_... Well, I can only explain what I know..._" Iblis offered. "_... You can hold onto my arm or something so we're not separated... If you want..._"

No sooner had he made the suggestion, did Dark respond by finding him and wrapping his arms around his torso so that all Iblis could do was place an arm around the shadow.

Immediately, Iblis noticed that Dark was trembling from either fear or the significant drop in temperature... Or perhaps both... And it was very obvious right now that Dark's core temperature was a few degrees lower than normal, which meant the collar wasn't going to alert anyone, because it was calibrated to detect higher temperatures.

"_... Well... Before I explain..._" Iblis started. "_What do you remember so far..?_"

Dark was silent, and shifted slightly and almost uncomfortably before saying in a meek tone: "_... You... You were... going to leave me, again..._"

"_... You haven't really had a problem with me disappearing before now..._"

"_... No... You were... going to leave forever..._" Dark continued in the small voice, lifting his head off Iblis' side to look up. "_... If you go... I'll be alone for real... There's no Mephy to help me... And I won't be able to ignore Dire... I hate being alone... It's worse than being hated, because there's no one else..._"

"_There's nothing good about being hated..._" Iblis reminded him wearily.

"_... I know... But at least it means someone knows I exist..._" Dark heaved a sigh and lowered his head again. "_... I'd rather have to endure a month of being snowed in a cabin with Shadow as the only other one around... Than to be alone for a week in a cave..._" Dark and Iblis were both silent for a while before Dark added: "_... Are you going to tell me what happened..?_"

"_... Oh, right... Of course..._" Iblis said, nodding slowly. "_... Do you know if your powers are linked to... Eh, do your emotions affect them to any degree..?_"

"_... If I'm really angry, they can flair up and destroy things... Or fuel the anger before I can stop myself..._" Dark sounded as if he wondered why this was important.

"_... How about if you're upset... Or scared..?_" Iblis was trying to narrow down the possible reasons.

"_... Not that I'm aware of..._" Dark now sounded as if he was trying to remove any tell tale signs of otherwise in his voice by speaking flatly.

"_... Oh, I think you're aware to some degree..._" Iblis added, sensing when Dark grew tense at that. "_You probably don't know about it directly, but you know something must happen when you... What would be a good term for that..? Eh... Black out..?_"

Dark didn't answer.

"_... We're in a shadow right now..._" Iblis finally told him, not sounding all too shocked about the situation now.

"_... What..?_" Dark whispered in surprise. "_... I don't... How did... I don't understand... Why..? How..? When..?_"

"_I don't really know the answer for that, but if I had to guess..._" Iblis shrugged. "_... What I was going to do caused you to have a nervous breakdown... And if your powers are really linked to your emotions, then when you lost control of yourself, you lost control of them... The shadows took a physical form, and spread throughout the room, and tried to keep me from leaving..._" He inhaled slowly and sighed before adding: "_That's really a theory...  
I do know, however, that your shadows formed a barrier around you (this dome thing around us...), and you started to have a panic attack or something like one, because you said you couldn't breathe..._"

"_... I-I don't remember any of th-that..._" Dark stammered in a soft voice, sounding quite shaken upon hearing this. "_... All I recall is getting very dizzy, like I do before a migraine, felling like I normally do before I get sick... Then... Black... That was right after you said you were going to leave..._"

"_... I take it you don't really know how to dissipate this dome then, do you..?_"

"_... I didn't even know it was me doing it until you told me..._"

"_... What if you try and calm down and think happy thoughts or something to counter it..?_"

"_... Easier said than done..._" Dark moaned anxiously.

"_... Why..? You know what's causing this, and why it happened now, so how can it be hard?_" Iblis didn't understand.

"_... It's too dark in here..._" The shadow groaned, pressing his face into the flame's side.

"_'Too dark'..?_" Iblis blinked in confusion. "_But you're a shadow... You're supposed to like the dark..._"

"_... I don't like what I can't see..._" The younger one explained wearily. "_... Absolute darkness reminds me too much of the Scepter... And all the bad that came with it..._"

_... So, he's actually afraid of the dark..._ Iblis pieced it together carefully. _... How ironic... But, I suppose if I had something happen to the degree he did with my own element, I guess I'd be worried about it too..._

Iblis noticed that the darkness was starting to lighten somewhat, as he could see Dark a little bit more than just reflective eyes, so he assumed the darkness was going away. The tenseness in Dark started to go away, which sped up the process of the room coming back into view, and in turn seemed to calm Dark down more.

Interestingly, not all of the inky mist receded back into Dark, and instead dispersed and melted into fine vapors in the air, fading from view.

"_... Wonder what's up with that..?_" Iblis wondered aloud, lifting his arm off Dark to stand up.

"_... Doesn't really matter... My body produces too much of it anyway..._" The shadow shook his head slowly as he got up carefully, trying to not put any pressure on his hurt wrist. "_... No way to properly channel it, so it usually gets out in short bursts of energy without my say so..._" Dark sighed before smiling weakly. "_... On the plus side, when that happens, I feel a bit happier without all that negative energy building up like sinus pressure... And my head doesn't buzz as much then..._"

As soon as he caught hold of the edge of the bed and pulled himself to his feel, his eyes had gone completely blank, while his body started to shake feverishly, and his face had drained of color.

Overall, he looked as though he had seen a ghost.

Concerned as to why he acting in such a way, Iblis followed his gaze towards what Dark was staring at, and immediately it was clear why.

It was a photo printed on a piece of simple copy paper, with a note written on the white space that was in the robot's handwriting.

It must have been under the plastic food tray that was now on the floor from the recent shadow episode, otherwise, Dark would have surely noticed it before now.

What was it a photo of?

Well, it was obviously from the perspective of a robot of some kind, given the view and HUD display readouts littering the edges and telling the then current status of the robot.

But it wasn't who it was from that obviously affected Dark... It was who was in it. Dark reached for it shakily, bringing it to his eyes to examine it closer.

There was no mistaking the bubble shield, the purple Aura and the near identical look compared to Dark in the slimmest sense...

It was Mephiles.

Suddenly, everything in Dark's senses when out of whack. His mind was reeling, his vision was spinning and blurring, his hearing became muffles of the blood rushing through his ears, and a tingling numbness spread throughout his body.

He didn't know what to feel.

At first, he was shocked at seeing the hedgehog alive and well when he had thought otherwise, and felt much needed solace in knowing Mephy hadn't died from being attacked while protecting Dark.

Then all that changed to confusion as he examined the image closer and realized Mephiles wasn't the only one there. A vaguely familiar looking pixie dog (though Dark couldn't quite remember where he'd seen him before...) was hiding behind the hedgehog and the shield, and Mephiles looked quite determined to net let this creature get hurt. The same determined look he had when trying to be brave for Dark...

Confusion melted away into horror. No matter how much you explained that image to Dark thoroughly, his mind had already come to the conclusion it was going to stick by, and having Dire there to encourage the idea did nothing to help even in the slightest.

The paper slipped from Dark's hand and Iblis caught it before it hit the ground to see what was troubling Dark so much.

"_Hey, wow! That hedgehog's still alive!_" Iblis exclaimed in surprise. "_That's wonderful! Now you don't have to-! Dark?_" Iblis realized Dark seemed anything but relieved. This both puzzled and troubled the flame. "_Dark? This picture's recent, that means he's still alive. What's wrong..?_"

"_..._" Dark just stared at the wall directly across from him, his gaze almost a textbook example of being disquieted. His uninjured hand slowly came to where his heart was, gripped the messy white fur in a tight hold as he leaned against the bed for support. He looked as though he was in immense pain, teeth clenched tightly and face scrunched in reaction to that.

"_Sweet Chaos on Mobius! What's wrong, Dark!_" Iblis knew it couldn't be a good sign if Dark was reacting like this. Dark only shook his head, unable to speak and explain. Various objects in the room were either engulfed in darkness and swallowed into oblivion, or exploded (thankfully, only inanimate objects did such..), as Dark's pupils widened to the point of making his irises almost non-existent to view, which Iblis could see when Dark forced his eyes open slightly to squint and look around himself frantically. Some objects even bent and tweaked into shapes and positions that were impossible otherwise for them naturally.

Then, as suddenly as it all started, it stopped... And Dark dropped to the floor in a dead faint.

Although this was becoming a common occurrence, it didn't make it any less unnerving when the shadow collapsed.

Iblis checked him over and realized that Dark seemed to be having trouble breathing properly, even though he was unconscious. Wheezy breaths escaped him and they sounded irregular, which was another cause for alarm. A check of the pulse showed that his heart had to be beating twice as fast as it should be, which wasn't especially good when Dark was in such terrible condition... It could quickly change into a heart attack, if he hadn't had one just now, that is.

With no idea how long it would be before someone was sent to check on the shadow, Iblis looked around for any kind of alert device, as he knew that hospitals in general had at least one per bed, and figured that would be the best option.

He found it, pressed it, and waited for something to happen...


	38. Still Not Fixed

Dark was fading in and out of consciousness, vaguely aware of what was happening around him.

He felt completely listless, not caring to move even the slightest twitch of muscles because he just didn't care to.

A faint pinprick in his arm followed by a brief numb and burning sensation pulled him back into consciousness for a short while, just enough to realize that he was no longer on the cold hard floor, and the throbbing in his head was going away slowly but gradually.

The odd feeling settled in his chest still seemed to stay, regardless. His ears twitched slightly, and he could hardly make out the mechanical whirring sounds that were no doubt from the various robots the Human had as his assistants.

Cold metallic fingers reached under his head and lifted it up slightly as another set fitted some sort of breathing apparatus to his mouth and nose, increasing the flow of oxygen to his lungs, which had seemed to be not getting comfortably enough.

He could feel cold metal things being prodded at him, under his skin, sliding against it, and set on it for short moments before moving elsewhere. He was able to identify that as various tests (such as blood samples and listening to heart rate, for example...), which he logically tried to tell himself they were to check his condition, but his instincts screamed at him that he was being experimented with.

'_They're taking your blood!_' It called out frantically, fed by his core fear of modern scientific testing. '_They're putting stuff in you! They're studying you! You're their lab rat! Do something!_'

_... Not in the mood... Shut up..._ He countered those thoughts sluggishly. _... They're just stabilizing me... Waste of time, really..._

He started to fade again, knowing that he was going to pass out once more... It didn't worry him much, as he knew that he was suffering a moment of severe weakness right now. He was aware that he have never reacted before in such a way to anything, but then again, a lot had changed over time.

But was he being irrational..? Sure, it had been a shock of grand proportions to discover that the hedgehog had not died from the head injury and being left in the snow in such a bad state... Dark had to admit he had assumed the worst, in fact...

But perplexing of all were these simple questions for himself: If Mephiles had indeed been alright all this time, then why hadn't he come to rescue Dark yet..? It's been well over a month, was he trying hard enough..? Why was he with those people, and even protecting them when it was well known that the hedgehog would freeze up and need to be the one saved..?

Before he let his mind wander further, he reasoned with himself that Mephiles would never just give up on him. The hedgehog was willing to even ignore house rules if it meant things would be in better favor of Dark even in the slightest... He even risked angering Shadow by taking Dark's side on things... How could the hedgehog NOT care about him..? Not after all he did for Dark...

Then another thought came to mind...

Mephiles was alive! He didn't die because Dark had ignored his pleas to remain out of the alley after all! Dark didn't indirectly kill him! Dire could no longer use that leverage!

All sound and senses stopped suddenly, and Dark fell into a state of total loss of awareness...

* * *

Picking himself off the ground slowly, he lifted his head and immediately saw Dire there, leaning with his back against the glass tank that held the shadowed monster inside. Krad was in it's wolf shape, laying on it's side in a position to suggest it collapsed, which was both odd and somewhat alarming to Dark, who knew that creature was very unlikely to do that.

He looked back at Dire.

"_What did you do?_"

Dire grinned slightly.

"What makes you think it was me..?" He responded calmly, folding his arms. "Besides, you said yourself you hate the thing..."

"_It's still a part of me! Hurting it hurts me!_" Dark snapped, baring his teeth.

"My! Aren't you a bit grouchy today?" Dire tilted his head back and smiled that small smile that never seemed friendly. "Too bad that hedgehog isn't here to cheer you up..."

"_Maybe not... But I learned today that he's not dead at all!_" Dark shouted clearly and confidently, trying to show Dire that he wasn't going to fall for that anymore. "_Ergo, I can't be the reason he's gone! I didn't cause his death because he isn't dead!_"

Dire blinked calmly before saying in a level tone: "Okay... So when does he come to save you..?"

Dark's fierce expression died swiftly. He had no answer for that, and Dire could easily pick that apart the same way he did before...

"_... S-soon..._" Dark lied, dropping his gaze to the ground and effectively giving his lie away that way.

Dire sighed and shook his head in mock concern.

"Oh, Dark... He's not coming, is he..?" Dire managed to make a common concerned tone sound so malicious, without even changing infliction, that Dark felt sick just hearing it. "... What's the matter..? Did he have something better to do..? Did he get hit so hard in the head that he forgot about you..? Or..?" Dire paused as he stopped leaning against the tank and stepped towards Dark, who immediately grew tense at this. "Or... Maybe he's finally rid of you..? I mean, it's been over a month since you got separated... And this is first you've heard of him since that time..? Now..? Was he even trying..?"

Immediately, Krad's eyes snapped open and the shadowed creature sprang to it's feet and started to bark viciously, paws splayed out, limbs set far apart as it braced itself against the ground of the cage, tail curled under and shaggy fur bristled down it's back. It leapt at the plexiglass wall and slammed it's head into it before backing up and pawing at the barrier frantically with both front paws, claws scratching against the material.

Dark watched that closely before looking back at Dire again.

"_What did you do..? Normally, it wants to attack me... It's directing all this at you..._"

Dark was answered by a simple wave of the hand, to which Krad suddenly froze, barking cut off with a sharp yelp as it stumbled back, shaking it's head back and forth as if something had caught it by the neck.

Dark watched in horror as the creature morphed back into the form that resembled a shadowed Dark, and clawed desperately at it's own throat as if suffocating. It's eyes held a flicker of anxiety, even.

As much as Dark hated his old self, he couldn't stand to see it reduced to such a helpless state. Krad didn't acknowledge that Dark was there, and didn't even look at him.

Right when it seemed as if the creature was done for, Dire waved his hand again and Krad inhaled sharply before dropping to the floor in a heap, eyes glassy and face void of even the slightest bit of hatred as it's body forced it to try and make up for that short bout of lack of oxygen.

"_... How..?_" Dark managed after the shock wore off.

"Shadow Energy... I'm made of it..." Dire explained without pause. "And being that I have easily eons more years of experience behind using it than you do, I can do more than you can even dream of."

"_... But... I don't... I can't even... What..?_" Dark was still stunned, and could only stutter.

"What are you... Like ten..? Eleven..? Years..?" Dire shrugged indifferently. "I'm at half that denomination in the thousands. You aren't the first one I've had to deal with, man."

"_... Thousands...?_" Dark responded with a good degree of shock. "_... That puts you at... You've been around since..._"

"I'm older than Chaos himself, if that's what you mean." Dire added for him. "And as such, I have much more control and power over my abilities. I can take any form I want without needing a template, unlike you... What do you have so far..? That..." He gestured to Dark's body in general. "... A shapeless pile of goop... A mouse... And... That's about it, really. A mouse..?" Dire started to snicker, causing Dark to bring his hands up towards his face as if trying to hide behind them. "Quite fitting, actually. That's a prey creature... Always having to look out for danger so it doesn't get snapped up... One mouse can't hope to do anything... It's too unimportant. They spend their whole lives running and hiding... Kinda like what you're trying to do now..."

Dark stared in shock, mouth hung open before clenching it shut and squeezing his hands into fists, eyes narrowing, and ears back.

"_No! You're just a liar!_" He shouted, glaring. "_Why should I believe anything you tell me when I know all you to do is feed off my misery and hurt me!_"

Dire rolled his eyes before tossing something on the ground, making Dark jump back as it slid. It was one of the small locks that had been on the tank. The locking bar had been snapped off.

"Because if you want me to stay away from these things..." Dire said calmly. "You'll keep me from getting bored, if you know what's good for you..."

It was hard to tell if Dark's already sickly pale face had gotten anymore so this time. He looked at the ground and lowered his arms.

"Ah, good... Good..." Dire nodded in approval. "Maybe you are smart after all. I don't have to be the bad guy here, if you don't make it so I have no other choice. Oh, how about a game? It'll be like Simon Says... You just have to repeat what I say a few times... Do it wrong, and I get to take off another lock... No..?" Dark had shook his head quickly at this, so Dire added to the deal. "Oh, right... You don't get much of a prize for this... How about if you do it right, I'll leave you alone for three days. That should give a chance to pull yourself together, after all..."

Dark looked as though he wasn't sure if he had a better chance at playing along, or if he tried to oppose. His ability to See ahead was practically garbled right now, as if something was preventing him from using it. He shuddered silently, looking quite helpless again.

Dire smirked.

"Trust me, things will be less difficult if you say 'Yes'... Less difficult to me, and less difficult for you to mess up any further..."

Dark didn't answer, so he reached for a lock behind him, prompting the shadow to squeak and nod quickly to get him to stop.

"Ah, very good... I knew you could do it..." Dire grinned before slowly lifting his fingers from the lock and letting it go. "Alright, now... It's very simple, just repeat what I say..."

* * *

Mephiles braced himself, knowing that Sonic was about to restore another Gaia Temple. He should have known by now that he had no real reason to freak out, but he couldn't help that every time the ground was going shake, his primal instincts told him to do what every animal should do in preparation for a natural disaster. Run.

"S-so, where are we going next..?" He asked Tails, trying to keep his mind off the coming quake.

"Well, reports have said there's another Temple in Empire City..." Tails pulled out the map, put it in the lighting of a nearby lantern and pointed to a circled area. "That's the next closest place.."

Mephiles noticed that only three of the seven circles were not crossed out, which meant there was only three places left to go. They were well beyond half way, which meant he was getting closer to reuniting with Dark.

"I don't know where that is, but I just know it means that Dark's gonna be saved soon..." The hedgehog smiled at the thought and grabbed a corner of the map to pull it closer to him to better look at it. "So I guess Empire City is a city type place... What's Adabat..?"

"It's got villages built on water." Tails said without pause.

Immediately, Mephiles looked even more nervous

"What do you mean by that..?"

"There's wooden piers and docks, with huts and houses built in the shallow waters... Ever seen those vacation commercials for the tropical places..?" Mephiles nodded in response as Tails continued. "Well, I think it's kinda like that... I haven't been there yet, but I've come across it on some researching."

"... I can't swim..." Mephiles reminded him anxiously, as if that had been forgotten.

"Don't worry, we'll have something ready for you by that time." Tails assured him. "In fact, we've already ordered a life vest for you, and we can pick it up at a shop in Empire City when we get there. Hope you don't mind the color orange..." He added. "Orange just looks brighter against blue, and we figured you wanted to be a visible as possible if you fell in so we'd notice."

"Orange is fine, th-thank you..." Mephiles smiled nervously.

"Also, it should be resistant to your crystals' sharpness, so it'll keep you floating, even if they dug in somehow..."

"Sure I won't be t-too dense to float..?" Mephiles asked further. "My crystals are kinda dense, and make me sink like a rock..."

"We picked out one of the higher quality ones, taking that into consideration..." Tails folded up the map. "I have no idea what substance that coating is, but it seems to have similar properties to several I've seen before, so I made sure to account for that possibility, too..."

* * *

Dark's eyelids lifted with difficulty as he groaned weakly while he came to. One eye lid half closed from exhaustion as he tried to make heads or tails of what was happening...

A plastic bubble-like thing was fitted over his mouth and nose...

He forced his eyes open more when his eyelids started to droop again...

What looked like a needle of some kind was set in the bend of his arm, attached to a tube that seemed to feed into a bag of clear liquid that was hanging from a stand for it near the bed...

_... What's that doing there..?_ He questioned no one, turning his attention to straight ahead, but squeezed his eyes shut when the florescent lighting agitated a headache that was forming in his head. If that wasn't enough, his stomach was starting to twist in knots as well, adding to the unpleasant feelings and making him feel helpless, because he had no way to ease up the discomfort other than laying perfectly still and hoping he didn't cause it to go further.

Inhaling sharply from a sudden but mild wave of nausea and tilting his head, he found the identical one, huddled in a nearby chair, looking as though he might have fallen asleep there.

Dark couldn't help but crack a small smile at that sight. The flame had his arms folded, his feet on the seat cushion, head hanging slightly downward, body somewhat curled, but everything seemed loose and indifferent to instinct... While Dark might curl up tightly to protect his vulnerable spots, Iblis here was curled up almost leisurely, as if it was just more convenient to do so.

Dark wanted to reach a hand out to him, but he was just out of reach, the shadow's fingertips hardly brushing against his arm as Dark struggled to hold his arm out.

A headache flared up viciously and he squeezed his eyes shut, crying out weakly in agony as he drew his hand back and used it to clutched the side of his forehead that was experiencing the pain.

At that sound, Iblis' eyes snapped open. He stared for a moment as if trying to comprehend what just happened and what was going on, before easing his gaze to Dark. He gasped and jumped to his feet.

"_Dark! What's wrong!_" He shouted as Dark flinched at the sudden loud tone.

Dark shook his head carefully with a pained moan, trying his best to explain without words that he would prefer it if the talking was kept to a minimum until his head didn't feel like his brain was being run through a blender. He couldn't muster much more than something resembling a vowel, dragged out on one breath as he curled inward, as if hoping to ease it.

No matter how many migraines he had had before in his life, the "experience" he had from having them never made them any less painful or crippling. In fact, the only method of relief he knew of that had the highest success rate in easing it to a more tolerable level during an episode was the hedgehog's ability to take some of it away. Without that, he would just have to wait until the migraine died down, which could take a while before he was able to think clearly.

Seeing that Dark had his eyes squeezed shut and his head turned the best he could from the overhead florescent lighting, and even had his arm raised slighting to shield himself from it, Iblis wondered if the lights were causing this (he didn't really understand how Dark's migraines worked, only that the headaches were capable of turning the usually tough acting shadow into a quivering, crying ball of quills in a matter of minutes...).

He crossed the room to the light switches that controlled several of the total florescent lights in the large recovery room and flipped a few until he got the ones in Dark's general area off, leaving that place dimly lit from the other ones around them. When he stepped back to where Dark was, he noticed that Dark didn't even realize that the lights had been dimmed, as he still kept his eyes squeezed shut.

"_... Dark..?_" He said in the softest tone he could do, which wasn't easy. "_... I turned down some of the lights... Does that help any..? Dark..?_"

The shadow managed to force an eye open slightly, which appeared to be staring blearily and unfocused, and continued to stare ahead before shifting in Iblis' direction.

"_... Mmm..?_" Dark managed to hum out weakly, not wanting to take valuable effort at the moment to properly pronounce the entire statement he wanted to voice. Iblis could figure that he meant to ask him what he had said... Whatever trace of confusion that managed to work passed the painful look in his eyes voiced that clearly. He hasn't heard him until his name had been said the second time...

"_... I said that I turned some of the lights down... Does that help at all..?_" Iblis repeated in a low voice, ears perked forward slightly to try and catch any of Dark's soft responses.

"_... Mmm-hmm..._" Dark closed his eyes again and gave a slight bob of the head. a weak nod really, and the corner of his mouth twitched a little in a small smile to express how grateful he was for that action.

Then suddenly, he shuddered as the smile faded, and his uninjured hand flew to his mouth, pulling the breathing mask off so he could clamp his hand tightly over his mouth, chest heaving up and down as he gasped, face paler than before and trembling body damp with sweat.

"_Aw, geeze! What's wrong_ now?" Iblis groaned in worry as Dark started to try and push himself up from the bed, not caring that he was pulling at the IV as he did. "_Hey!_" Iblis reacted swiftly; quickly and carefully pushing him back into the bed. "_You shouldn't be trying to move right now! You're ill, and your blood pressure had dropped dangerously low earlier! You need to stay down!_"

"_... Errm... Gonna... S-sick..._" Dark managed between heavy gasps, still trying to get up.

"_... Eh..?_" Iblis didn't quite understand why Dark was being so persistent, but was still nevertheless worried. "_I don't really... OH!_" He finally got it as soon as Dark's cheeks puffed before the shadow swallowed back the terrible feeling with difficulty. "_Oh! You're going to vomit, aren't you!_"

The look Dark gave him would have almost been comical if not for the situation. It was very sarcastic and clearly said (sarcastically): "_No... I'm perfectly fine, I just love acting like this..._"

Iblis quickly located an empty wastebasket and shoved it in his hands.

"_Here, this should-Oh... Ooh... Yeah, I think you got it..._" Iblis' face turned red from awkwardness as Dark pulled the wastebasket from him, threw his head in it, and proceeded to empty his stomach contents in it... Which wasn't really much, but still enough to make it as unpleasant as it looked.

Lifting his head up when the barfing stopped, Dark looked at Iblis with a pitiful expression, and what he said almost made Iblis laugh.

"_... That was my favorite kind of food, too..._" He groaned, looking as if he was going to cry, but only for the reason that he had thrown up the food he had enjoyed, not because he was sick.

Iblis took the wastebasket and shoved it into a corner, then took the empty tray from earlier and placed it on top of it to cap it, as he was sure it was going to start to smell foul later, which was something Dark didn't need at the moment.

"_... Feel better now..?_" He asked as Dark wiped frantically at his nose, looking, if possible, more disgusted.

"_... I think some of it got in my nostrils..._" He groaned, but sounding much more coherent than ten minutes before.

Iblis found a tissue box on one of the shelves, and handed it to him.

"_Will this help any...?_" He said as Dark snatched up a wad of tissues and blew his nose into it, causing Iblis, who had never really seen something like that before, jump back in shock, disgusted at what he spotted on the tissues, which Dark didn't seem to care much about at all. "_What was that!_"

"_... Clearing my nose... It's normal..._" Dark explained, slightly amused as he balled the tissue up and tossed it on the nightstand. "_... I'd go into explanation, but I don't think that's the right time right now..._"

"_... Eh... Well, do you feel any better..?_" Iblis quickly steered back.

"_... I still feel like crud... But my headache isn't as bad now, and I don't feel like I'm going to be sick, since I already have..._" Dark muttered, trying to stifle a yawn, looking a bit sleepy still. "_... What happened earlier..? I just remember seeing that picture of..._" He trailed off before suddenly gasping and appearing as though excited but a mix of other emotions as well. "_Mephy! He's alright! He's alive!_" He burst into tears as it sunk in completely. "_I don't-I mean, I saw him get hit! Th-there was all that blood! He wasn't moving! But he's alive! I sh-should have known! He's lived through worse! He's got _healing_ powers, for Chaos' s-sake! Why did I just assume th-the worst! I've been j-just hurting myself over nothing! I sh-should know by now he's t-tougher than he looks!_"

"_... You're forgetting how quickly that all happened..._" Iblis reminded him carefully, a little stunned by the sudden wailing from the shadow. "_... I mean, you said that you didn't have much time to assess everything... All you knew was that he was hurt, and you had to get both of you out of there..._" He noticed that Dark was wheezing each time he took a breath, and immediately brought that to his attention. "_You're sounding out of breath... Please try to calm yourself and take a few breaths through that air thing until you feel better... You might pass out again if you don't..._"

For once, Dark didn't object to being told to do something so seemingly obvious. He fumbled for the oxygen mask for a moment, as it had fallen to hang loosely around his neck, and pulled it back up to his mouth and nose, breathing in deeply and holding it for a moment before breathing out, eyes closed and head hung as he tried to compose himself.

It was getting difficult to act like he normally did, now. With the fresh memory of being so weak and helpless, crying out as a migraine caught him up swiftly, before losing what little food he had managed to get into his stomach, then sobbing like an ignored infant... He wondered if he ever be able to live that down... It was even more embarrassing to be the way in the presence of (a figment of!) his brother who had rejected him for showing similar weaknesses.

Pale face flushed around the cheeks and bridge of his nose and ears drooping, Dark looked at Iblis meekly, as if waiting to see what he had to say about all this. Iblis just stared before sighing softly and reaching over to try to help ease him into a better recovery position, which made Dark flinch unexpectedly.

"_... I'm not going to hurt you..._" Iblis reassured him, trying to get him to lay on his back. "_... You'll get more of that to your lungs if you lay back, and tilt you head up more, instead of curling in like that..._" When he finally got him to lay back like he suggested, the flame reached under his brother's chin and lifted it a bit to help tilt his head back like he had explained. Upon feeling the older one's fingers so close to his neck, Dark's breathing hitched and his body went completely rigid with fear.

Seeing Dark shiver, squeeze his eyes shut and clench his jaw to try and stifle a cry of fright, Iblis quickly withdrew his hand, realizing what he had done wrong: deep down, Dark was still anxious, if not downright scared, of him, and bringing his hands that close to such an important, vital spot had triggered an immediate terror response in Dark's weakened state. Dark might have not meant to, but it still had come forth almost naturally. Dark didn't seem to mind as much having his chest, back, arm, and head touched...

Thinking about it further, he was able to recall a few times in which he had caused Dark to be hurt quite badly around the neck and throat area. Dark was just being cautious...

"_... I won't hurt you..._" Iblis tried to explain to him, wondering if he even believed him in the slightest. If he didn't, Iblis didn't blame him, to be honest. "_... Bear in mind I've been tending to you since you woke up... I don't want to see you get hurt... Not again..._"

Dark blinked and tilted his head to look at him more clearly. True... Iblis had been trying his best to make it easier for Dark... And Dark hadn't seemed grateful, not even in the slightest sense...

Feeling like a brat, Dark looked away for a moment as if thinking about something. Then, carefully, he tried to push himself up again, Iblis reacting quickly, despite having drawn away from him initially.

"_You're by far the most stubborn kid I've ever-!_" He scolded as he stepped forward to push him back down, but cut himself off when he saw Dark flash a now rare grin and the shadow threw his arms around him when he was close enough. "_D-Dark! What on Mobius-! Did you do that on purpose!_" Iblis stammered, completely thrown for a loop.

"_... Mmm-hmm..._" Dark hummed, still having not caught his breath enough to speak clearly.

"_... You're so unpredictable sometimes..._" Iblis huffed, letting his own arms go limp. "_... It's often difficult to catch when you shift moods... You managed to go from nauseated, to embarrassed, to indifferent, to upset, to terrified, and to this in the span of almost an hour alone..._"

Dark "hmmed" another response, and pressed himself closer, as if enjoying that he could nuzzle against something furry.

Iblis sighed, shook his head, and smiled slightly before noticing something else.

"_... For someone who's been sick for a while and hardly taking care of themselves..._" He pointed out as he tried to loosen Dark's hold a little. "_... You've got quite a grip... When did you get so strong..?_"

Dark snorted, and managed an "_... Always been..._"

"_... Really, now..?_" Iblis had to smile slightly at Dark's currently childlike demeanor. The shadow was soaking up the warm and positive energy that had started to radiate between them like a sponge, sighing contentedly. "_... I remember you being such a feeble thing when you started existing... Couldn't even move until I gave you a good shove to get started..._" Iblis snorted lightly at the memory. "_... You also pretty much picked out the first names we had..._"

"_... I did..?_" Dark mumbled sleepily, starting to doze off again, but forced himself to stay awake a little longer.

"_Of course..._" Iblis blinked, a little surprise Dark had forgotten, before taking into account that not only had Dark suppressed many of his early memories, but he had sustained enough head injuries over time, that it was surprising that he didn't think he was the Queen of France or something else just as outrageously confusing. "_... You said 'A Brother is someone you grow with... I learned that today... I'm going to call you that, now.'... So I called you Little Brother, because you were smaller and younger than me... You were so thrilled at the idea of using your suggestion._"

"_... I wish I could remember... But I don't..._" Dark murmured miserably, pulling away from Iblis to look at him sadly. "_... I know it happened, and I feel it... But I just can't remember..._" Then he added in a softer tone, looking at the floor as he did: "_... Part of the reason I have migraines... Is because they try to break through the barrier, but almost all can't... If they do, it's only a fracture of the memory..._"

"_... How much do you really remember, then..?_" Iblis asked gently.

"_..._" Dark lowered his head again, hiding his face from view as he stayed silent.

"_... Dark..?_" Iblis tried again before realizing Dark was swaying just a little, and decided it was best to stop asking questions and gently eased him back down on his back. "_... I should say right now that one of the side effects of what's in that bag thing is drowsiness, along with nausea... which I think you must have figured by now..._" He explained as Dark yawned again and stared at him blearily. "_... It's supposed to help get your system back on track, from what I heard. It was about as strange as it was terrifying, earlier..._" Iblis added, explaining about what happened when Dark collapsed earlier. "_Your heart was beating really fast, but suddenly slowed down more than it should of... I heard your blood pressure just plummeted after that. That bag right here..._" He gestured to the IV drip. "_Is supposed to have something in it to help restore and replace chemical imbalances in your body to try and stop that from happening again. When you feel better later, I want you to try and eat something, okay..?_" He added somewhat desperately. "_... It doesn't have to be a lot, but just something with a bit of substance..._"

"_... Dire says he's gonna leave me alone... For a few days..._" Dark managed to say, trying to keep himself awake enough to speak clearly.

"_... That actually sounds suspicious..._" Iblis blinked and frowned slightly. "_Why the sudden relenting..?_"

"_... Said I could have a break... If I just repeated what he said..._" Dark shifted a bit to get more comfortable.

"_... Dark... Don't let your guard down..._" Iblis said seriously. "_He's trying to get you to be more vulnerable by manipulating you..._"

To his surprise, Dark grinned slyly.

"_I know... I don't fall for that trick at all..._" He smiled smally.

Iblis blinked before mirroring the same smile.

"_Good boy..._" He whispered, reaching over and patting Dark on the head before he could stop himself.

Dark simply beamed at the praise before nodding off again.


	39. No title to think of

Empire City wasn't so bad, Mephiles decided. In fact, it was very much like Westopolis, with only a few scant differences that happened with every city.

This familiarity sparked a sense of comfort he hadn't felt in the other countries, and never had he been so happy to see a newspaper kiosk before.

Passing around the main court area with the three he was with, something just occurred to him...

"... Hey... Hasn't that guy been just about everywhere..?" He said softly to Tails, trying not to be so loud.

He was referring to a young man with a top hat the seemed too big for his head (it covered half his face...), a long coat, a small suitcase and what appeared to be a Chao hand puppet on his right hand, which he held up to be level with his head.

"... I think so... How many people carry around a Chao puppet anyway...?" Tails agreed and brought that point up to Sonic.

Sonic decided to see if it was a good idea to engage in conversation with the guy, as he seemed to be watching the small group closely... But before Sonic could finish his friendly greeting, the strange fellow promptly screamed in fear and ran off and out of sight, leaving the Mobians and the imp staring in confusion, Sonic still having his hand in the air as part of an uncompleted wave, as the fingers now curled halfheartedly, and he slowly drew his arm back to his side.

"... Uh... Wow... Awkward..." He blinked before carefully stepping back into line with the group. "... Guess he's never seen a blue hedgehog before..."

"... Maybe he's not a people-person..?" Tails suggested, shrugging.

"... Why would he be scared of us..?" Mephiles asked, somewhat startled by the sudden change of events. "... Save for Chip, we're like... half his size... Chip's at least half ours..."

Rubbing the non-sharp part of his fingers against his head in a moment of pondering, he paused and wondered to himself for a moment if maybe the sharp appearance of the crystals on him might have been the cause for alarm. Honestly, in a group consisting of a blue hedgehog with red shoes, a two tailed fox, a fluffy fairy dog and himself (a bizarre looking hedgehog with odd colored pupil-less eyes whose hands, feet, ears, tail tip and quills were coated in crystals that made them sharper than another hedgehog's...)... He might have looked a bit more of a danger... Despite the fluffy chest, muzzle and face, which were extremely soft in contrast to his sharp burden.

Slowly, he hid his hands behind his back, curled his tail, drooped his ears and lowered his head to look at the ground, trying not to attract any more attention than what was necessary.

* * *

Dark felt somewhat better when he woke up again. The dizziness had subsided, he could breathe with more ease, and the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach was gone except for an occasional flutter... probably from lack of proper eating, he figured.

Arching his back to stretch and wake up more, he dropped back and heaved a sigh after pulling off the air mask, already quite bored with himself

The IV needle, which had to be put in the inner part of the bend of his arm, rather than his hand for the simple reason that nothing could get passed his crystal coating on it, caused a twinge in his arm when he moved it a certain angle, making him wider if it was okay to take it out now... The bag was near empty anyway...

No, maybe he shouldn't... Not until the rest of the solution was done being administered. It would be foolish to remove it right now...

That, and the only hand he could use to pull it off was his sprained one, meaning even if he tried, the closing of his fingers on that hand would agitate his wrist, making it just not worth the effort.

_... This is annoying..._ He growled to himself, staring at the wrist with some level of resentment. _... Of all the places to injure, it had to be that spot..._

Realizing that Iblis hadn't spoken to him yet, Dark felt a thrill of panic when he immediately assumed the worst, which would be that he had been left alone.

Then he realized that wasn't really the case, but that the blue hedgehog robot was there instead.

Given that he was bedridden, injured, and in all senses: vulnerable... This did nothing to comfort him. With no barrier between them, Dark knew that if he so much as set off something with that bot... There would be no way to defend himself in his weakened state.

Without really thinking, he shouted: "_I CAN BITE!_" in a rather futile attempt to dissuade the robot from getting near him. Dark blinked a few times as he thought about what he just did and brought his uninjured hand to his head, sighing in exasperation as he dragged it down slowly, careful to leave not a scratch on his face from his claws. "_... I'm such an idiot..._"

_It's a wonder why you haven't died yet from all that stress..._ Metal scribbled down on the notepad. _By all means, you should have been comatose after what happened to you earlier._

Dark stared at him before narrowing his eyes.

"_... I thought he was dead until now, because of what you did to him..._" He growled lowly, bristling his fur and quills. "_... It was the shock of it that got me off guard..._"

_Well, now you can stop being so morbid now that you know I didn't kill him._Metal didn't seem affected by Dark's hostile display.

"_You still separated us._" Dark huffed, not taking his eyes of him. "_You should have never done that. I should never be this far away from him for this long..._"

_I was only doing my job._

The amount of indifference Dark sensed from the hedge-bot sparked something that ignited a moment of fury in the shadow, who raised his good hand to strike the bot... Who reacted quickly and efficiently by catching him by his injured wrist and pinning it down, causing Dark to immediately flatten himself against the bed to avoid any strain on his wrist. Looking up in a slight amount pain, he stared at Metal now fearfully, knowing that he was currently at the mercy of him.

_... Do you realize that I could snap your wrist completely in more than twenty different ways..? You are in no position to attempt to confront me, because I WILL win._Metal wrote on the paper with one hand, on the nightstand, without so much as looking, dropping the pen and snatching up the notepad to hold up for Dark to read.

Dark stared at it with wide eyes before managing in a small voice: "_... I-if you hurt me... I d-don't think th-that Human would appreciate th-that..._"

Metal dropped the notepad on the side table again, picked up the pen and wrote his response.

_I honestly do not care what he thinks. If you give me reason to, I'm going to do what programing dictates, and that is self preserve. You have already proven capable of damaging me with little effort, and raising your hand as you just did justifies anything I do in self defense. Don't. Push. It._

The last three words were underlined twice over, as if driving the point home.

"_... You're hurting me..._" Dark responded meekly, pleading nonverbally to be let go.

Once he was, Dark was quick to draw back, trying to stay as far away from the robot as possible.

* * *

"... Why does Shadow and Rouge have streets named after them..?" Mephiles was looking at the street signs above him, in which there was a South Shadow Avenue, a Rouge Street and even more perplexing: an E-123 Omega Road. There was no way that was merely a coincidence.

"Not just Shadow and Rouge..." Tails pointed out. "There's a Silver Beach and Blaze Road, too... Those are friends of Sonic and mine. Weird..."

"... Not as weird as _that..._" Mephiles looked over at a large glowing neon sign atop a building in particular, which read "Soleanna Hotel".

Chip, who had stayed behind this time while Sonic ventured on the rooftops, trying to find keys to get him to the next obsticles, stared up at it.

"I don't get it..."

"Soleanna is a kingdom really east of where I live..." Mephiles explained slowly, tearing his eyes from the sign. "... It's also where I'm from..." he added in a slight mutter, shaking his head at the thought.

"Sonic and I were there about a year ago." Tails picked up. "Eggman was up to something then, too. Trying to awaken some time creature, or something, which had been split in two, and- hey, are you okay..?" Tails suddenly cut himself off and looked at Mephiles.

The hedgehog had gone rather tense and rigid, as if the statement had affected him somehow.

"... Can we please move on to another subject..?" The hedgehog asked in a small voice as he gradually eased up. "... Soleanna isn't really a nice topic for me..."

Truthfully, even though to some degree he still resented the people there in a collective group for their cruelty to him in the days after he was altered by the Emeralds, the part he was most anxious about falling into topic was anything pertaining to Solaris... He knew the truth as well as, if not better than, anyone, and that made it difficult to listen to discussion based on rumor and gossip about it. He would love to be able to correct anyone about it, but then that would lead to explaining about himself and Dark true origins...

Terrible idea as he didn't want to give someone a reason to fear or hate Dark for the past, when both of them clearly wanted to be accepted and belong...

It was difficult enough as it was with them to look as they did. With those familiar with him and his sweet disposition, Mephiles fit in perfectly... But with new faces, he couldn't help but notice that most of the time, the attention is drawn to his strange crystals, his claws, or his oddly colored, pupil-less eyes first.

He knew Dark would have it worse, with even brighter eye pigments and catlike pupils, unkempt appearance, his growly voice, and slightly more noticeable teeth that would make more sense to be on a Mobian echidna. He knew Dark was more self conscious about all that, perhaps even awkward.

* * *

Dark was still somewhat shaken from his confrontation with Metal Sonic. Afterward, it had occurred to him that even if he had broken free... He would have never been able to escape beyond the hallway, as the stairs would have been impossible to get passed for him.

It made him about as vulnerable as a rabbit dropped into a python's tank. Ability to outrun... Nowhere _to_run.

Gently holding his wrist in his other hand, he examined it carefully, finding it to be a bit more sore than it had been prior to being pinned. Wincing slightly at the throb of pain, he looked around the room for Iblis. As long as he could find him, he knew he wouldn't be left alone with that robot.

Having carefully pulled the IV needle out with his teeth (as it was really the only way he could without using his hurt hand.), he set it aside and decided to try and walk around the room for a little bit.

_The last thing I need is to be down for so long that my body forgets how to walk..._ He told himself, frowning slightly. _Oh Chaos, the sheer humiliation of that alone would be enough to kill me..._

"_And what are you up to?_"

"_Where have you been..?_" Dark snapped his attention in the direction of Iblis, frowning at him slightly. "_... I know you only show up when I'm alone, but seriously... I could have used a bit of help earlier..._"

"_... if I'm not real, what could I possibly been able to do..?_" Iblis questioned while sitting next to him, smiling slyly at the logic.

"_... You just had to remind me, huh..?_" Dark huffed, folding his ears back. "_... Anyway... While you disappeared, I was left alone with that robot..._"

Iblis did not answer, but stared at him with a slightly altered expression now.

"_... I think I clash too much with it..._" Dark added, looking at the ground. "_... And it doesn't seem hesitant to put me in my place..._" A blank look touched his eyes for a moment that could pass as a flicker of unease. "_... And I'm trapped down here if it decided to act upon that idea. It would be impossible to get passed those stairs..._"

"_... The stairs are only an obstacle because you let them be._" Iblis pointed out, scratching an itch behind his ear. "_... You're afraid of what happened on them, but it's very simple to get passed them without any danger at all..._"

"_... Perhaps..._" Dark said slowly, holding his wrist a bit more securely and sinking a little. "_... I suppose over time, the shock of it will diminish, and the fear will be conquered... But right now, everything about it is still sickeningly fresh in my mind..._" He shot a wary look at the door, clenching his jaw just a little.

He slid off the bed and set his feet on the ground, getting ready to stand up and walk around.

Almost immediately, he felt some difficultly with this normally automatic task. He cursed under his breath and leaned against the bed frame a little bit.

"_... I was afraid of this..._" He snorted moodily, frowning in annoyance as Iblis stared at him in confusion. "_... Been down so often and long that my brain started to forget how to do this..._"

"_... What?_"

"_... Nothing to really be alarmed about._" Dark assured him. "_... I can fix it swiftly enough... I'll just look like an idiot for a short while..._" Dark's pale face flushed without changing his expression.

* * *

Mephiles realized that quite a few people were actually staring at him. And not even bothering to hide it, at that. This made him feel like he wanted to find a rock and crawl under it, hoping no one could find him.

Of all the places they had ventured to so far, this by far had the highest populous, and as such, plenty of people who saw him as... Strange.

"What's up with you?" Tails noticed that Mephiles was making a conscious effort to stand near things taller than him, or stay behind Tails so he was out of sight, keeping his eyes to the ground.

"... I really don't fit in here.." The hedgehog said in a small voice, not lifting his head. "... I can sense it... People want to say something about me, but they don't want me to hear it..."

"I have two tails, Chip has wings, and Sonic is turning into a hedge-wolf at night..." Tails reminded him. "You fit in just fine."

"..." Mephiles still didn't look up. His ears twitched at the soft whispers that his ears could hear better than most, and bit down on his lower lip. It seemed that most were more curious about his nervous nature than his appearance, and that softened things a bit... But he could still hear a couple of voices commenting lowly to others about his claws and odd crystal markings. He brought his hands closer to his face, curling his fingers inward to hide his claws, and to create a theoretical barrier between him and they.

It wasn't that he had anything against Humans in particular... It was more that Humans seemed more likely to notice his oddities than Mobians did. Their color palettes in varieties seems rather limited compared the many colors of fur, eyes, skin, feathers, scales, quills and other parts that the Mobians had, with the Humans virtually void of any stripes, spots or streaks that would show in their animal counterparts.

Perhaps that was why Mephiles' uncommon coloration struck as odd to the Humans. Such did not occur in their race, while the only real odd thing Mobian-wise about him was his crystals, lack of pupils, and sclera.

His blue fur passed as normal, as did his pale muzzle and inner ears. His fluffy chest and tufts were uncommon, but not unheard of. And his lack of shoes and gloves were excusable by the possibility of tearing them through just simple use. He was average size, and an okay weight. The shape of his nose was smaller and different than other boy hedgehogs, but it wasn't really a set rule that all would have ones like Sonic or Shadow.

Considering most of that, he was very much acceptable by Mobian standards for classification. He just stood out more when someone who wasn't aware of such variants noticed, and that made him as interesting to them as an albino, or a gene that deviates from the norm.

Listening more closely at what was being said, it seemed that a student of some kind was theorizing that he could be a new sub-species of Mobian Hedgehog that may be better adapted for life in a specific climate.

Extra fluff for warmth? Claws that might have better grip and traction on dirt surfaces? Fur tufts on face for detecting subtle changes in the air like whiskers? Different pigmented eyes that might protect against the sun? Crystal-like coating that acts as a natural armor against physical trauma, like a fall or an attack? Or maybe it's to reinforce the curling ability? Maybe the claws are for digging?

The hedgehog snorted to himself. That was certainly different than what he was used to. No one had really tried the biological-science approach in identifying him before, and though the guesses were well educated thoughts... They were about as far from the truth as possible.

* * *

Fingers toying with the locks, Dire restrained himself from getting another one loose. He had made a deal with Dark after all... He might be horrible, manipulative, and a downright monster... But he was true to his word. If he said he'd do something, he'll do it. No exceptions. Even if a three day wait was close to too much for him... But maybe he could use the time off to think up some new tactics or material...

"... Oh, when it's over..." He mused aloud, eyes fixed on the inky form in the tank. "... Just you wait..."

Krad took it's shadowed Dark form, bright eyes fixed into a glare only Dark himself could match. Striking the glass with a fist, it did the same with the other and repeated it several times before deciding a SpinDash was a better method, if any.

"Y'know, I was wondering..." Dire added, not at all worried by this. "Can you even speak at all? You must have a voice if you can make those primal sounds, but I don't think I've heard a single vocalization pertaining to civilized communication come from you. Odd, since Dark can do that. Can you even understand me at all, or are you just a caged dumb animal?"

This prompted the darkened hedgehog creature to slam into the plexiglass with much more force, snarling viciously.

"... Or maybe you just don't have anything worthwhile to say...?" Dire added, examining it further. "You're only concerned with escaping, therefore, speaking is a waste of time."

Another fist to the glass, which this time cracked slightly on impact, but quickly healed itself, leaving no trace.

"Must be boring in there... There's not a single bit of decoration in there, it's just an empty aquarium." Dire noted in a dull tone, not really concerned. "No wonder you want out... It sucks in there."

Another strike, this time the whole body thrown against it shoulder first. The tank rocked slightly, but remained in place due to the chains securing the lid by shackling it to the ground.

"Y'know, no matter how hard you try... You won't be able to get out on your own." Dire smirked at the creature. "And even if you did, I doubt you'd be able to do anything to me. I'm much more experienced than you'll ever be at using shadow energy, as you already know."

* * *

_I wasn't created "bad". In fact, I think it was very much as far from that as possible..._

_I wasn't given much hope for the future, however. To find out that you're being punished for something you had yet to even come close to doing, and that said event will happen no matter what you do, doesn't leave much to be optimistic about. I was told that I would do terrible things in the future, then locked away without an explanation, or even a chance to prove otherwise..._

_If not for that little hedgehog, I might have been worse off. Even in the darkness, it's nice to have someone answer back that isn't a product of your mind._

_Though my complete memories are still fractured, some managed to resurface in bits and pieces enough that I can at least take solace in knowing I was not entirely horrible to him in the early days, before the effects of the experiments on Solaris finally reached me and started to alter my personality like it had Iblis._

_Trivial and almost silly some may seem, they are still my memories..._

_There is one, to elaborate, that is of one of mine and Mephy's first days of knowing each other. There is a bit of fracturing in it, as I have not gotten it all back, but it is still something, to me, worth remembering._

_"How are we supposed to get to know each other if I can't see, smell or touch you..?" He asked me not long into our imprisonment._

_Naturally, I had to ask what he meant._

_"If I can't see you, I don't know what you look like. If I can't smell you, I won't be able to know who you are if we get out of here and we meet again. If I can't touch you, we can't really play around..." He explained, using his hedgehog logic. "If you're just a voice, you can't really do much, and you'll be really bored really fast..."_

_I told him I wasn't just a voice, and I was capable of feeling emotions and sensations, just not anything requiring a tangible form to do so._

_"What's tangible..?"_

_I said it was something solid that you could touch..._

_"Oh, so like me?"_

_"Not exclusively, but you would be considered tangible." I explained. "You have a physical form that can be felt."_

_"Why don't you..?"_

_"... Because..." I didn't really know why._

_He tilted his head, nose twitching._

_"Can you see me, then..?"_

_"Of course. You're a little brown... thing..."_

_"I'm a hedgehog."_

_"You don't look like a hedgehog to me..." That was because the only other hedgehog I met before him was nowhere near that small, or for that matter, like that at all._

_"Well, I'm definitely not a rabbit or a porcupine." He snorted at that, as if he thought that was funny, but I didn't quite catch the humor. "Sounds like you never met a hedgehog before."_

_"Have you met another... Whatever I am before..?"_

_"No... What are you, anyway..?"-_

"Shadow! I thought you put those back!" Rouge snatched a notebook out of his hands and swiped the other one off the desk. "How many times do I have to remind you that those were not intended to entertain you!"

Shadow was still sitting with his hands held up in the same position as he had been while holding the journal, as he had a magazine held over the front of it, hoping to be able to hide them from Rouge.

"How did you know that was one of them? They could have been any other old notebook, because you could buy those kind by the bulk." He half closed his eyes and tossed the magazine to the side.

"Because I know you'd never be so interested in one of my magazines." She said with a hint of a laugh, which caused Shadow to finally look at the one he had picked up to hide the notebook behind.

It was a gems and treasures fanatics based one, with articles on different clarities, rarities, best suited matches to certain outfits and even a centerfold for the Gem of the Month... Which, oddly, this month seemed to be the Master Emerald... Or at least, would have been, if all shots on either sides of the fold out pages didn't have Knuckles trying to block the camera's shots of the Master Emerald with vicious glares and finally seemed to compromise with a final shot featuring the M.E. and Knuckles leaning with his back against it, his arms crossed and staring sidewise at the photographers with a look that clearly said : "Now get out of here before I break that thing."

"... I had no idea there was even a magazine for this..." He said, cringing back from the centerfold, which almost seems like _Knuckles_was the actual focus.

"He does that all the time... The photographers have yet to get a clear shot of the Master Emerald without him in it somehow..." She picked up the magazine from the floor and put it on her desk. "It's become kind of a semi running joke where they send the new photographers to Angel Island to try and get a shot, he's kinda in on it too."

Shadow just stared at her with the most baffled look he could give while still appearing as he normally did.

"Now, are you going to leave these books alone, or am I going to have to find a hiding place myself?" Rouge said seriously.

"You can't tell me you're not even the least bit curious about them yourself." Shadow countered. "The guy is living in your house, and is always around the kid you and I both are acting as guardians to... You can't say that you've never wondered about his perspective of things..."

"You haven't cared much about that until after you found those notebooks." Rouge tossed back, pulling open a drawer to the desk, dropping the books in it, shutting it and turning a key, locking them in. "If I recall, you had it set in your mind that he was evil, wouldn't change, was always up to something..."

"And you just let him move in with us."

"Because Mephiles wanted him to, and he had nowhere else to go." She reasoned. "And because he's technically part of the Scepter of Darkness we were supposed to retrieve and bring back here, he would have ended up confiscated and put under lockdown. If he gets taken away, what logic against GUN would prevent them from taking Mephiles away too? He was part of the Scepter as well, and I don't think we can explain the whole situation clearly enough to justify why we haven't returned anything from the Scepter back to GUN other than a few shards of glass."

"You had that all in mind from the start..?"

"No. I listened. Dark is aware that you, Mephiles and I are the only three things keeping him from ending up locked up the way you were on Prison Island. He's been locked up for ten years out of the near eleven years of his life. So what if he's a bit odd about some things? He's only been able to have some of that freedom for a short time, and Mephiles is probably the only one who really understands that." Rouge continued. "And now, he's away from any bit of security, and probably doubts he'll be found, because he probably thinks something bad happened to Mephiles, considering what happened last time they were together, so as far as he knows, that leaves you and me. Him and I might not interact as much as he does with you and Mephiles, but at least he's not feeling a need to be hostile to me. But I doubt he's banking on me being the one to get him. That leaves you, and that doesn't leave him much hope."

"Okay..." Shadow sighed. "... Way to make me feel like a jerk..."

"Hey, don't get too down about it." Rouge suddenly stopped ragging on him. "I also noticed that in your perspective, you just don't want to see someone get hurt. The two of you have been at odd before, and you have a good reason to be cautious, especially after seeing what Mephiles went through... But people do change. You seem to forget that..."

"Don't remind me..."

"Shadow, you may have almost ended up crashing something the size of the moon into our planet, but you still had the heart to stop it. People don't think of you as the hedgehog who tried to kill us... They think of you as a hero of our world, and trusted ally to Sonic." She smiled slightly, stapling a short stack of papers together and labeling them. "The president still has that picture of you and Sonic on his desk to remind everyone who really protects the world."

"That's not even a good picture. It was Sonic's idea... He wouldn't let me leave until I got into the shot."


	40. Is it really this many chapters?

"_Hey, let me go!_" Dark snapped while pushing away, but immediately found himself unbalanced and quickly clung back to the other so he didn't fall. "_... Don't look too much into this..._" He snarled lowly. "_... When I get myself reoriented again-_"

"_I know, I know..._" Iblis fought back the urge to laugh, knowing that would further patronize him. "_But sometimes, you just need a little bit of help. This is that 'sometime'..._"

"_... Nevermind how baffling it is that you're holding me up, when you're not there..._" Dark muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "_... I can do fine without the help..._"

As if to mutely prove his point, Iblis stepped away from him and Dark quickly pawed his good hand out at him, looking startled for a moment as he toppled sideways with a yelp, but was caught before he sank too far.

"_Son of a gum chewing funk monster!_" He shrieked angrily as he caught the flame's shoulders and pulled himself up to where they were eye-to-eye. "WARN ME NEXT TIME!"

"_Still think you can do without the help..?_" Iblis didn't change expressions, but had a hint of a smile worked in as Dark lessened his grip slightly, and slid down a bit.

"_I'm fine!_" Dark huffed, having not learned from what just happened. But when Iblis decided to try the same thing again, Dark quickly held on tighter. "_Oh, no you freaking don't!_"

"_If you could only see how funny that looks..._" The flame snorted, before noticing the slightly horrified look Dark gave him, to which he clarified: "_Not the being helpless part. The part where you pulled me back._"

"_I'm not helpless!_" Dark snapped at him defensively.

Iblis sighed inwardly. Some things never change. Dark will probably deny the need for help until the end of his time, having to rely on subtlety to convey when he truly did need it, because it seemed to hurt his pride to admit it.

He just didn't seem to understand that it was alright to have a weak moment every now and then...

**That's because he thinks you won't tolerate it...**

_... How do I get him to stop thinking like that..?_

**You can't. Not right away, at least.**

_Oh, perfect... This is another one of those things where I drove such a screw into his mind, that it's going to hard to get it out, isn't it..?_

**Sounds like you're getting the hang of this...**

Iblis groaned inwardly again, knowing that he was going to come across quite a few of these obstacles with the shadow.

He decided to try something else.

"_... You look better..._"

"_Hmm..?_" Dark looked up in confusion, wondering where this was headed.

"_You don't look as exhausted as you did a couple days ago..._" Iblis explained.

Dark looked somewhat startled.

"_... What?_" The flame asked once he noticed the reaction.

"_... You're not supposed to be this nice..._" Dark looked as though he was expecting everything to take a drastic sharp turn downward without a moment's notice.

"_Disregard what I'm 'supposed' to be, and just let me be what you 'want' me to be..._" Iblis tried to reason. "_You probably have every right to be cautious, but if you get hurt now, it's not going to be from me..._"

"_... I... I dunno..._" Dark said meekly, his ears flattening to his skull and his eyes wide.

"_... What?_" Iblis was confused by his response.

"_... I don't... I don't know what I want you to be..._"

"_... Eh?_"

"_... I'm sorry, but... It's very conflicting..._" Dark tried to explain. "_... I can't fool myself, not even for a second, on anything... To be convincing, you'd have to be what I _don't_ want you to be... But if you're otherwise, then it doesn't make any sense to me..._" Dark blinked twice and looked down at the floor, half closing his eyes. "_... Of course, if you were really here... We wouldn't be in this situation, much less discussing it..._"

"_And why are you so sure of that..?_" Iblis asked after a pause.

"_... Because I don't think I'd be able to think clearly..._" Dark answered in a low tone, having not lifted his head back up again. "_... I'd be too terrified to speak..._"

* * *

All it took was the wrong statement. Maybe it was unintentional, or maybe it wasn't. Who knows?

The point was, Mephiles overheard it due to his very good sense of hearing, and heard a pronoun he disliked used to describe him to another person. Perhaps the person was tactless, or foolish, or maybe they didn't care... But it was something that brought forth a torrent of hurt enough to make him run...

The word?

"It".

Used in the context of "What do you think it is?" and "Do you think it's from around here?"

In Soleanna, the people had referred to him as an "it", and put him on a lower respect scale than an Earth Dog. And he was sure it wasn't because he wasn't a Human, because Sonic was well celebrated over there now.

The more and more he heard that tactlessly oblivious person use that word to refer to him, the more and more upset he got. He started to tremble from it, and finally, he couldn't take any more.

When Tails asked if he was alright, he smacked his hand away and shoved passed him, wanting to get as far away from the people as possible. He didn't even realize that he had done that until later, because all he was concerned with doing at the moment was finding a place away from everyone and everything, just to take a moment to think and calm down.

He knew he was overreacting maybe just a little, but it was one of those things he couldn't help. He had been reminded of his treatment in Soleanna, and it caught him unawares, flooding back so swiftly that it had knocked the breath out of him briefly.

_"Oh, look. There it is again..."_

_"Can you believe it came from_ our _kingdom?"_

_"I heard it had something to do with the Accident..."_

_"I don't think it even looks like a hedgehog..."_

He knew they didn't really know everything from the beginning, and his bad treatment had come from just a form of mob mentality, in which the collective group of people contributed one negative thing, causing everyone else involved to follow suit. To be fair, if possible, they believed he was the cause of the Accident ten years prior, and at the time, he didn't have any proof to show his innocence.

An entire kingdom... Against a single odd hedgehog. It was useless to retaliate for two reasons: they outnumbered him... And if he did, they would have more reason to hate him...

It wasn't an entire nightmare, though. At least after the first night, when he was sitting against a wall in an alley close to the plaza under a dim streetlamp, a local stray dog had decided he wasn't all that bad and licked off some of the leftover spaghetti sauce that had stuck to him when some jerkish teenager had dumped a takeout box on him instead of the trash can that was clearly several feet away. Then the dog curled up next to him, probably because he was the only heat source outside that night, which the poor abused hedgehog didn't mind. At least the dog knew he wasn't a bad person...

He wondered why he just remembered the dog right now, considering he hadn't given much thought to anything involving the overall incidents since he left Soleanna, as that had been such a horrible ordeal for him...

Bringing his attention back to the now, he found himself in the middle of what appeared to be a small park clearing, with several cement structures and planters with flora other than grass. Most of the clearing was surrounded by a thick forest of seasonal trees, and he could see the skyscrapers in the distance, tall enough to be seen over the trees that otherwise blocked his view.

"... How did I... get here..?" Mephiles hadn't really realized that he had run off. Looking around, he got a bit more nervous. "... I hope I'm not lost... I don't know this place..."

He stood there in a frozen state of panic, suddenly terrified of everything around him. He did not know this place. He wasn't near anyone or anything familiar. He could barely recall how he got there...

_... Calm down... Can't have a panic attack out here by myself... Everything is going to be fine..._

He squinted, having found his vision starting to blur.

_... I said calm down..._ He told himself again, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing the heel of his hand to them, trying to clear them. _... Geeze, I'm such a wimp... No wonder Dark got-!_

He cut that thought off by raising his arm and striking his open hand palm side to his cheek, appalled that he was thinking that way.

_... Dark was only taken because it was a robot..._ He rubbed his cheek carefully, eyes tearing up as he bit his lower lip. _... It wasn't because I'm such a weak, useless hedgehog... Even if I could have done something, that thing would have outlasted us anyway..._

He inhaled through a now dribbly nose, his eyes starting to burn as well.

_... Of course... It's not like I did much... Nearly got my head bashed in, and that thing hardly hesitated to do that..._ Then a horrible thought came to mind. _... Oh, Chaos! Dark probably saw how hurt I got! What if he didn't fight back because he was more concerned with me? What if he didn't try to run because he wasn't going to leave me behind? What if I'm the main reason he was taken to begin with? All because I can't even protect someone I really want to be able to!_

Mephiles stared ahead for several minutes, his eyes wide and dilated (or the equivalent, on account of his pupil-less eyes), his arms dropping limply in front of him as his body sank to the concrete paved sidewalk, slumping forward and appearing to be entirely dumbstruck.

_... I promised him nothing would happen to him again... That I'd never let him get hurt again... And this still happened..._ A few tears escaped his eyes, and he closed them. _... I should know better than to make promises I'm too weak to keep, even if I really want them to be true..._

Something touched his shoulder and he jolted, falling over and scrambling back from it in fright before he realized it was only Tails, looked as though he could have been annoyed moments before, but seemed to notice that the poor hedgehog had simply panicked.

"You really shouldn't run off like that..." He said, holding out his hand to help Mephiles up off the ground. "It's bigger than Westopolis here, and you could get lost..."

"... S-sorry... I j-just... I d-don't know how I g-got here..." Mephiles stammered, looking quite embarrassed. "... I d-don't remember r-running off..." His eyes trailed to the fox's outstretched left hand and saw that the white glove had been torn on the back of his hand and the fur underneath was exposed, as well as the unmistakeable scratch from claws that left the small wound dribbling blood slowly much like a cat scratch. He gasped softly, and quickly curled his fingers inward, and putting his hands behind his back to hide his claws, face flushing nervously. "... S-s-sorry... I d-didn't mean it..."

"What..? This..?" Tails blinked and looked at the scratch. "Oh, it should be fine in a bit, and be gone by the end of the week. I have a few extra pairs of gloves in the Tornado, so that's not a problem..."

Mephiles, who had cringed and squeezed his eyes shut as he flinched back, as if expecting to be yelled at, opened his eyes and looked up.

"... You're not mad..?" The hedgehog lifted his ears a little. "... B-but I hurt you..."

"You were obviously not thinking clearly." Tails seemed to shrug it off. "... I saw you were getting upset over something..." Blue eyes blinked as he ward his hand a little, reminding the hedgehog that he was offering to help him up. "... You wanna say why?"

Mephiles was silent as he took the hand and made it to his feet, head hanging down. In a low, stuttering tone, he explained what had caused him to start to become upset in the first place, justifying running off with the simple notion of just wanting to get out of there.

"... I d-don't like being c-called an 'it'..." He mumbled, drooping his ears a bit more.

Tails didn't say anything, looking at him with an understanding expression as Mephiles stared at his hand. Then the hedgehog blinked and brought his other hand up.

"... Hold on f-for a moment... I th-think I c-can fix this..." He stammered, pressing his palm to the wound.

"What are you..?" Tails let the question die as a tranced look came over the hedgehog's now violet tinged eyes, purple Aura emanating from his hand and the stinging sensation on the back of his own hand leaving gradually.

The strange coloration drained from the hedgehog's eyes and the glow left his hand as he blinked and focused his vision again and lifted his hand, then suddenly withdrew it back to himself, clutching it with a short hiss of pain, before easing up.

"... G-geeze... Th-that feels really weird, s-since I can't really g-get hurt there..." He inhaled sharply, flexing his fingers. "... I g-guess that means I really d-do transfer p-pain... Fffff... Ah... Ouch... I-I'm okay... R-really..."

Tails stared at him before looking at his own hand, surprised to see that the wound was gone, despite some now coagulated blood and the torn glove. Other than that, the flesh appeared completely untouched.

"How did you do that..?"

Mephiles lifted his eyes from his own hand and stared before shrugging.

"... I d-dunno... I j-just do it..." He explained the best he could as his stutter faded. "... I f-found out I could heal other people when I accidentally hit Shadow with the remote some months ago... I'm still figuring it out..." He winced again at the odd pain on the back of his crystal hand that he knew otherwise would never feel that type of pain. "... And I knew I could heal myself faster than naturally before that... I think it's my special ability or something..." He blinked, and lowered his head. "... Doesn't help much, though... It's not a miracle worker by any stretch of the imagination... Wait, no, scratch that... It kept Dark alive long enough to get medical help once..."

* * *

"_Dark! Dark! Can you hear me!_"

The shadow stirred and slowly dragged himself back to reality. His head was dizzy and muddled with fatigue, and he felt like something had a constricting hold around his chest, making him feel like he couldn't breathe.

"_Dark! Wake up!_" The voice was a bit more demanding, as someone grabbed his shoulders and shook him roughly. "_Dark! Wake up right now!_"

His body didn't seem to be synchronized with his mind, as his awareness was becoming slowly alert, but his body felt as if it just wanted to lay there.

His eyelids flickered before lifting just enough to see, everything a blur of shapes and colors.

"_I am this close to hitting the call button! Wake up!_"

Suddenly, the tight feeling across his chest vanished and a rush of welcomed oxygen filled his lungs as a wave of terror washed over him, making him jolt and shove himself up, only to fall back, this time not bothering to push himself up once more, knowing he was likely to drop back again.

Panting in wheezes with his tongue half out like a dog, his eyes wandered the room, focusing in and out of clarity as he settled them on Iblis, who backed off and released his shoulders. He then realized that Iblis was holding the oxygen mask from earlier over his nose and mouth, and the shadow was laying on his back on the floor, sprained wrist resting on his stomach.

"_I don't get what happened! One minute, you were fine, the next it was like you completely shut down!_" Iblis looked at him accusingly, as if he half suspected that Dark had done that purposely. He grabbed Dark's uninjured arm by the wrist and guided the hand to the breathing mask to have him hold it in place himself. "_Here, keep this on it while I get something to put under your head..._"

Dark did so without question, eyeing the flame wearily as he pulled the pillow off the bed for the twin. Iblis glanced at him and looked somewhat relieved.

"_You're not as pale right now... That's good..._" He muttered, smiling slightly as he lifted Dark's head and slid the pillow underneath it. "_You had gotten as white as a ghost and just dropped... I told you it was a bad idea to push yourself too much, you stubborn brat..._" It was obvious by now his equivalent to Dark's "Stupid Hedgehog" to Mephy was "Stubborn Brat" for the shadow, or some variant. Dark blinked slowly before narrowing his eyes in annoyance. "_I want you to stop trying to hide the fact you're ill. I already know that you're not feeling well, so why are you even bothering with that? You'll just make it worse if you don't slow down._"

"_... Can't t-tell me what to do..._" Dark managed through a deep breath. "_... You're not-_"

"_I know, I _know!" Iblis snapped, making Dark flinch. The flame noticed that and lowered his tone. "_... Do you always do this with the hedgehog..?_"

Dark blinked and shifted his gaze away from Iblis, a light red tinge rising to his pale face.

"_... Maybe a little..._" He breathed, looking downward at his sprained wrist. "_... But he's more..._" He stopped, wondering how to explain it, and in a way that Iblis would understand and not be offended. "_... He's... less... angry..._"

"_... Eh..?_"

"_... He doesn't yell at me..._" Dark could feel his normal breathing rhythm returning. "_... And he's less demanding... He doesn't make it feel like I have no choice in the matter..._"

"_But it seems like if you had it your way, you'd run yourself to the ground..._"

"_... Only if you insist on forcing me to do it your way..._"

"_... You're a brat..._"

"_... So I've been told..._"


	41. New iPod Chapter

"_... Impy..?_"

Sympathy looked up from the ground, having been sitting on it quite boredly, staring at the smallest Dark that was standing before him, tiny arms wrapped around the tattered rabbit toy that he half hid his face behind, leaving his large eyes only visible.

"_... I wish I could smile at seeing that you're alright... But I can't..._" The larger of the two responded in a dull tone, looking back down. "_... It's very strange... I can feel at the core, but my emotions can't reach the heart... Like a bad internet connection... I don't feel like me anymore... Or anyone else, for that matter..._"

Euphie continued to stare at him before he felt something touch his shoulder. He turned his head to look behind him, finding the well-worn-out Logic squinting at him behind broken glasses, appearing as if he had forgotten what he had intended to say.

"_... Oh, Chaos..._" He huffed, looking to the right for a moment before looking back. "_... Euphie, maybe you should let him be for now... He's already been through the worst of it... And... Ah..._" He completely trailed off hopelessly, knowing whatever he said wouldn't make an ounce of difference.

All the other emotions were keeping their distance from Sympathy as if he were contagious, many of them terrified of the drastic change that happened to him in such a short move from that little beast, Dire.

Truth be told, the ones who had been disconnected before were the ones most horrified, as they knew first hand how the process felt, and acted is if Sympathy was now some sort of alien to them.

It seemed that hardly anyone wanted to be in close proximity to the altered emotion, as if they truly thought they might catch it like a virus.

Hysteria's frantic babble of worry further fueled this fear as the other Darks that played in key with him followed suit, only following their nature instead of the common sense provided by the appropriate Darks that handled that. Paranoia was the first to latch to the ideas.

Amongst that, Zane guffawed at the panicked group of Darks, calling them out on their unfound insecurity, oddly being the only sensible sanity related Dark between them.

Reese tried to appeal to them, explaining that such disconnection was in no way viral or, for that matter, even a disease, but his soft tone fell on deaf ears once more.

"_... Nobody listens to Reason..._" Reese mumbled, giving up and sinking to the ground to sit.

Rage was yelling them all to shut up, Arrow shouting back a challenge of making him do so, while Tactless bluntly stated: "_Yeah, that's a real smart idea there, buddy..._" earning a glare from both of the aggressive emotions.

Parry was absolutely inconsolable, wailing at the top of his voice, which was now starting to sound very hoarse, as though his vocal cords were succumbing to the abusive tones that would no doubt leave them feeling as though they were on fire whenever he managed to stop.

This was only several of the Darks, and it was pure Chaos between the whole lot of them.

Euphoria blinked and for the first time any of the emotions could ever recall... He looked defiant.

"_No._"

Logic blinked in surprise. This was very unusual.

"_... Euphie, you need to-_"

"_No!_" The little Dark shouted, putting his small fists to his side, one still clutching the stuffed rabbit, as he stomped his foot. "_Impy needs us! All of us together! Impy not the scary one! Impy just hurt! All of you, stop being dummies!_" He paused, blinking confusedly for a moment, before appearing as though he really resented his limit vocal vocabulary, as the elaborate way he thought was nowhere near the simple way he could speak.

It really sucked being the oldest of all of them, but physically the youngest, trapped in a form younger than his brain. If only Dark had never been so heartbroken so early in life... Things would be less complicated...

At least Dark's recent opening up to his heart with the hedgehog had allowed Euphie, above all the others, to begin to truly mature in form, even if it was ever so slowly.

Rage snapped at him: "_You're a bit small to be telling any of us what to do, runt!_"

"_Meanie! I'm olderer!_" Euphie blinked again, and muttered "_'Olderer'?_" questioningly to himself, knowing full well that wasn't even a real word. What he intended to say was something along the lines of "I've been around the longest of all of you!" but he wasn't close to the physical age of that sentence structuring ability yet. His body was still the form of a toddler, no older than three years at most.

Looking up at other Darks, he folded his ears back and walked closer to Sympathy before sitting down, and leaning against him.

There was a long bout of silence before anything else happened.

Then Logic did the same and sat down on the other side, arm reaching around the disconnected one's shoulder.

"_... He's right, y'know... We all stand together... If we divide, then Dark becomes more vulnerable..._" He explained tiredly, but nevertheless determined. "_We shouldn't be ignoring Sympathy because he's not the same anymore... We need to stand together, like we always do. We've got some of us fighting with the others, some of us getting worked up over some hoaxy idea, and no one has even tried to help Parry calm down..._"

"_Because that's Sympathy's job!_" Tactless blurted out without so much as appearing as though he cared how rude that was.

"_You see..? That is exactly what I mean! No one is willing to help out!_" Logic shouted, starting to act more like himself again. "_No one will listen to Reese, Zane is making more sense than half of you over there, and some of us are turning on each other! Everything is going to Chaos!_"

* * *

Mephiles was somewhat calmer now, even though he still shuddered occasionally, despite the warm weather. He quickly crawled back into the Tornado once they returned to the main area, the plane parked just out of the way of people. There, he folded his arms and stared down at his feet, not saying a single word.

He stayed like that for a long time, not looking up for at least an hour, when Tails brought to his attention that the life vest order came through perfectly, and produced the box it came in.

"Now, if I can just get the tape off..."

Mephitis, without so much as a word, reached over and slid a claw across the line of tape and the two edges. The box's top opened.

"... You should see how I peel fruit..." The hedgehog allowed a rare smug smirk on his face from the amusement of seeing the fox's reaction.

* * *

"_How long are you going to keep staring at that picture..?_"

Dark, who was sitting on the bed with his folded like a kindergartner in a circle of peers, looked up.

"_Why shouldn't I..? It's the only proof that I have for myself that he's not dead..._" He said with a touch of annoyance. "_... You don't realize the importance of that to me..._"

"_But staring at it all day isn't going to get him here any faster._" Iblis reached over to pull the printed image out of the younger one's hands. Dark immediately fought back.

"_What else am I going to do! You won't let me walk around, and the morning programming on TV sucks!_" Dark snapped, stiffening his grip on the paper while trying to shove Iblis away the best he could with his injured hand, which prompted Iblis to hesitate, not wanting to put any pressure on the injury that would further harm him.

"_I didn't say you couldn't walk, I just told you to take it easy!_" Iblis snapped back, trying to get passed the flailing arm defense. As long as Dark's wrist was in that brace, Iblis could not just shove the hand away. Not unless he wanted to apply the wrong pressure to it, causing it to worsen. "_You're going to have a relapse if you don't slow down! Give me that!_"

"_No! It's mine! He's my hedgehog! Get your own!_" Dark held the paper out as far as he could away from Iblis, and lifted his foot to push him back even further. "_You can't have it!_"

"_Are we seriously bickering over a piece of paper!_" The flame barked back. "_You're getting obsessed over it! It's just an image printed in ink on a sheet of pressed wood pulp! It's not going to do you any good, and it's not going to change appearance! It got the message to you, and it's done it's job! You can get rid of it now!_"

"_No!_" Dark protested, arm starting to get sore from holding the paper out behind him to keep it away from Iblis. "_Why don't you ever let me have anything! It's mine!_"

Upon hearing that, Iblis hesitated. Maybe trying to take the picture from Dark was a bad idea... There was no telling what would happen if he provoked Dark into a screaming fit if he did manage to wrestle the paper from his hands.

Stepping back a bit, he tossed his hands in the air defeatedly.

"_Fine, keep it for now... But get rid of it by the end of the week..._"

Dark blinked, still holding the paper out of reach, having just noticed that Iblis had backed off. He looked at him skeptically.

"_... What..?_" He said slowly, as if expecting this to be a front to wait until his guard was down.

"_I said you can keep it for now._" Iblis repeated, lowering his hands. "_But just promise that you won't go nuts over it... It's just a piece of paper, after all..._"

Dark looked at the picture again. True... It was just a piece of paper. But it was a piece of paper that was the proof that Mephiles was still alive. There was no visible indication of the injury he had sustained from hitting the brick wall, so it must have healed over... Of course, Mephy had accelerated healing as one of his special abilities. Why did he overlook that possibility..? The hedgehog had lived through worse things than a bad bash to the head, after all...

Why did he just jump to the conclusion that Mephy had died..? Because they were alone when the hedge-bot attacked them..? Because Mephy was left unconscious in the falling snow..? Because he was terrified and didn't think clearly about the situation..?

His head felt strangely empty without Dire's idle comments trying to mess with his thoughts, but as he was still given a break from the torment, he was still trying to adjust to the three days of silence he was given.

_... I should have never been separated from Mephy in the first place..._ He told himself, carefully folding the paper in half and setting it on the side table. _... I should not be here... And now, he's doing who knows what with Chaos knows who, and if that's not enough, he's actually out of his comfort zone, out in the real world... He has to be looking for me. Why else would he be out there..? He might be scared of everything, but he's not a coward when he has to protect something he cares about... Even if he's not physically capable of doing it..._

With that thought, he realized something unsettling.

"_... He can't swim..._" Dark said aloud in a low tone, as if more to himself. "_... What if there's water between us right now..?_"

"_... What do you mean..?_" Iblis asked, not quite understanding what Dark was worried about.

"_... He's terrified of large bodies of water... He's drowned before, at least twice. It's practically the same thing with my fear of stairs..._" Dark explained, looking unnerved.

"_... Are you scared that he's not going to be able to get past it if there was water between you..?_" Iblis asked, trying to find out the source of Dark's worry.

The shadow shook his head.

"_... No. I'm afraid of him hurting himself to get to me..._"

* * *

As explained, the life vest was orange. It contrasted very well against Mephiles' dark blue fur, appearing very bright there instead of against Tails' fur. Even better, his crystals' sharpness would not interfere with the vest's ability to float, as it had a very lightweight, but buoyant foam-like material in it, designed to keep anyone's head above water.

"Are you sure this is going to work on me..?" The hedgehog was still anxious. He had never used one of those before, and he knew for a fact that his crystals made him as dense as a fire hydrant in water, and he couldn't see how this could cancel that out as expected. "You probably know by now that I'm not a normal hedgehog... So you'll understand that I'm still skeptical about how this will work, won't you..?"

"This is supposed to support someone much heavier than you, so I'm sure it'll be fine..." Tails reassured him.

"... Are you one hundred percent sure that this will not let me sink..?" Mephiles pressed on, his mind already drawing up various scenarios that could go wrong.

"Unless you weigh as much as a motorbike, I'm quite sure."

"And how much would you say that weighs..?"

"More than you, me, Sonic, and a few other Mobians like us combined..." Tails was half tempted to roll his eyes.

"Well, that depends... Are we talking average three foot three inch Mobians, or the ones taller than Humans? What about Omega? He's, like... Gotta be half a ton or something... Would this work on him..?"

"No. He'd need more than just one." Tails explained before raising an eyebrow. "How do you know about Omega..? None of us have heard from or of him since we had to deal with that problem on Soleanna... I don't think there would have been time for you to meet him..."

Mephiles suddenly looked as if he thought he might have said too much. He caught his lower lip between his teeth and suddenly took interest in a tree off to his right.

* * *

"_... Can I ask you something..?_"

Dark, who was in the middle of bringing a pretzel stick to his mouth, paused before dropping it back in the half eaten bag and nodded slowly, though still looking as though he'd rather be eating the cracker-like snack sticks than answering questions at the moment.

"_... Sure... Go on..._"

Iblis, who was sitting on one of the nearby chairs, feet also on the cushion, looking as though he was choosing his words carefully.

"_... That hedgehog has given you a second chance, despite that you've hurt him in the past..._" He started, looking at the floor. "_... With me... Would you ever..?_" The sentence died with a somewhat hopeful infliction, awaiting the answer from the shadow.

Dark stared at him for a while, even taking a moment to calmly munch on a few pretzel sticks, as if stalling for time to think.

"_... Firstly..._" He started after he finished the third stick. "_... I don't see what good it will do if you're just an illusion of my mind right now..._" He bit into a fourth pretzel, chewed then swallowed. "_... But if we can just ignore that for the moment, I'd like to point out that, though similar situations, the wounds inflicted on Mephy were, for the most part, physical and healed over quite quickly. He doesn't suffer much of an after effect aside from nightmares and possibly his usual timidness and that stutter he gets when he's at the very least startled... And I admit I tried some psychological leverage on him in the past, but only to bend and tweak aspects to better suit my needs at the time being... That, I'm not at all proud of..._"

He finished the pretzel before picking up another out of the bag, appearing somewhat remorseful at the thought.

Iblis didn't speak, but continued to stare at him.

"_... My wounds weren't just physical, such as the dislocated shoulder, or the fall down the stairs, or even my brush with death that managed to come back for an encore..._" Dark continued in a low tone, his thinned fur bristling slightly before smoothing down at the idea crossing his mind, even shuddering involuntarily for a second. He cleared his throat and continued in a tone closer to normal speaking level, though obviously anxious at the thought. "_... Those would and have healed over time... My shoulder retained proper function, the crack in my skull is small, and despite the fur growing oddly and bald in thin lines where I was slashed... There's just some scarring there, and really nothing more. It's actually quite intriguing that I didn't suffer any nerve damage there, considering the severity of the injury and that it happened twice..._"

Looking up to see if Iblis had a response, he saw none and continued.

"_... If there's one thing to learn from all that, it's that your body can heal from incredible situations like that if given the right help or motivation. Bones can mend and skin can be stitched to help it repair itself, even if it cannot do it fully, such as my ear. It cannot grow back the same way it was before, but it can make due with what it has. But it will never be complete again because it's missing part of it..._"

"_... I didn't even do anything to your ear..._"

"_... I know, but it illustrates a point..._" Dark exhaled through his nose, half closing his eyes. "_... Some things do not heal properly, if at all... The body can fix itself, the memories can fade into distant thoughts, but the heart is the last thing to mend, and probably most difficult._" He now seemed to find the bag of pretzel sticks very interesting, as he didn't lift his eyes from it now. "_You try to avoid anything that reminds you of or can lead to what caused such a wound, by closing yourself off from everything. By doing so, you lose perspective in empathizing with others and tend only to your want and needs. You become selfish and become hostile to anything that threatens that idea. You want to remove it from your sight so that it does not interfere with your fantasy that you're perfectly content with everything as it, when you are clearly not. When something manages to get passed the defenses and lift the illusion to clear your sight, and reveals to you that you have been blind to the lie for all this time... Suddenly, those pieces you've balanced meticulously to keep the shape resembling what you desire, fall apart again at that new tremor of realization. Because you're too broken to think to use proper solvent..._"

Still no response back. Silence.

"_... Perhaps if I'm more straightforward..?_" He pulled another pretzel stick out of the bag and snapped it in half before handing the two pieces to Iblis. "_Can you piece those two together again..?_"

Not understanding the point of the exercise, the flame simply stuck the ends back into place, the broken, jagged edges piecing together like a puzzle.

"_Good... You can fix a fracture, but see that there's missing parts that won't stick to it anymore..?_" Dark indicated to the crumbs that fell off while breaking the pretzel. He reached over and took the two pieces from Iblis and set them on the nightstand side by side, and slammed his hand palmside down on them, lifting it up to reveal dustlike crumbs and tiny salt granules where the two halves had been. He separated the more solid pieces that had not been crushed and set them in a small pile. "_... Now, can you completely fix something that's been crushed..? Not likely... It can be rebuilt, maybe into something else, but it's never the same again..._"

Dark brushed the crumbs off into the small trashcan. "_... I stopped being 'Little Brother' when I became 'Dark'. 'Little Brother' does as he's told without question, even if fearful... 'Dark' wonders 'why?' and broods about how he should have been able to stop it... I can never be 'Little Brother' ever again..._"

"_... Is that also why you've stopped calling me 'Brother', and just 'Iblis'..?_"

Dark looked up from brushing the crushed pretzels into the trash bin, stared for a short while, and looked back at his task, not saying a word.


	42. Have computer, still used iPod

_... It's very bizarre that something like this exists here, when most of the inhabitants around here are robots..._ Dark thought to himself, examining the adjoining bathroom to the ward-like room more closely than he had before now. _... I can let the basics slide, considering there's supposed to be at least one actual living being living here at all times... But why on Mobius would there be a need for a bathtub..? Who has the time around here to just sit when a shower is more efficient..?_

Then he wondered if the shock collar was water resistant. His fur had been starting to feel sticky and grimy, and one of the reasons stopping him from doing much about it was whether or not he was in danger of getting fried from the electrical current passing through water.

_... I should ask next chance I get... Preferably the Human, since that robot seems to have it out for me..._

Examining his reflection in the mirror carefully, he sighed heavily, pulling down on a darkened lower eyelid.

_... I wonder how I can tell if my eyes are bloodshot..? It'd be impossible to tell that apart from normal, I'd think..._

A brittle quill broke off and fell to the floor when he ran his fingers through them, cringing slightly at yet another bit added to the growing thinness in his crystal coated spines.

"_... Need help getting back over here..?_" Iblis asked, as Dark was now at the doorframe, leaning against it for support because the weakness in his legs were still present from the lack of standing.

"_... I won't be able to build up tolerance if I don't let myself try..._" Dark declined, edging his way back to his bed by catching hold of things on the walls.

"_Perhaps... But you also overexert yourself if no one bothers to stop you before that..._" Iblis reminded him.

"_I'm not going to keel over..._" Dark rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"_You've had a couple of close calls already, so please try to understand my uneasiness..._" The flame tried to appeal to him. "_And you'd just push yourself until you can't do it anymore, which is not good for someone in your state..._"

"_... Maybe so..._" Dark exhaled quite audibly as he walked carefully and awkwardly along the wall, gripping onto shelves that were level to him. "_... But I do not like to be coddled, which is what you appear to insist on doing to me... I am capable of doing things myself..._"

"_... I'm well aware of that, but everyone needs help sometimes..._" Iblis slid off the bed to step the distance between him and Dark and stood near him. "_... Like it or not, you are not immortal, nor invincible, and you will have physical limitations throughout your life. If someone wants to take a moment to tend to you, then why decline..?_"

"_... It's embarrassing..._" Dark muttered, lowering his head enough to hide the flushing across his muzzle.

"_... For someone who insists on me being a figment, you seem to forget that it would mean that no one would know what you do when we are alone..._" Iblis reminded him, watching him closely, taking notice of the shakiness of the shadow's thin frame, as if the support his legs gave him were going to give out soon, even though Dark himself appeared otherwise.

Reaching over to take Dark's arm and pull it around his shoulders to offer support, Iblis tried to counter that, but Dark immediately pulled away out of force of habit, losing his balance and falling into the shelves and causing a fair amount of force to be directed into his right shoulder from striking the edge of the shelf. Before he could fall further, he tried to catch onto the shelf he was leaning into, but his legs gave out and he ended up pulling the shelf off it's setting place and bringing several hardcover books down with him with a sound that sounded something like a **FWOMP**, one of the volumes landing just inches from his injured wrist.

Dark didn't cry out in any form of shock or fright or even startling, but the slight contraction of his pupils with his widened eyes was enough to hint that at the very least, he was going to be bruised there for a while now.

This all happened under the time frame of under half a minute. Iblis didn't quite realize that Dark had toppled a shelf until after he noticed the shadow on the floor.

"_Are you alright..?_" Iblis asked awkwardly as he knelt down to help Dark back up.

"_... Actually quite lucky this book missed my wrist..._" Dark grumbled, shoving him away regardless.

Iblis gave him a disapproving look.

"_Now really, I'm trying to help..._" He said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "_... The whole reason you're on the floor right now is because you insist on rejecting assistance._"

"_... Maybe if you warned me before touching me..._" Dark glared back. "_... Very rarely do I willingly allow anyone to have any kind of contact with me..._"

"_Except for that hedgehog and your cat..._" Iblis smirked slightly. "_... Of course, I don't blame you for freaking out whenever I get that close... But let me remind you that you have nothing to worry about with me..._"

"_Yeah, okay... Whatever..._" Dark grumbled halfheartedly, as if he didn't really trust the thought.

Shifting his eyes towards the book that missed his wrist, the pastel-like illustration that wrapped around it on the book jacket caught his interest, and he reached for it with his good hand, while still down on the floor, placing his hand on top of it and sliding it his way to grab it better. It was somewhat of a scrawny book, but appeared to be part of a set, which was scattered on the floor around him it would seem, with the others much more filled with pages than this one. But, as it seemed, he had before him the first installment to this story, and wondered why it needed seven books to tell it.

"_... Might as well look at this..._" He said, trying to shove himself up with his good arm, but seemed to lock into one position when he couldn't reach a certain point. His pale face flush again, and he looked up at Iblis almost pitifully.

"_Don't worry about it too much..._" The flame tried to reassure him, carefully helping the shadow to his feet. "_Just pace yourself, and you should be able to step around the room on your own just fine when you can... See..? You're already starting to keep yourself upright with only needing to hold my arm, rather than cling to me..._"

Taken aback at this unusual display of encouragement, Dark just stared, folding his ears back and down, visibly nervous from it. Well, "nervous" was putting it lightly. He looked as though he was more certain the floor was going to disappear and drop him into some glitch filled void, than he was of this.

"_... Please try to stop shivering like that... It'll make it harder for you to stand..._ Iblis said, shaking his head a bit. "_I'll walk you back over to the bed, and I'll bring the book over to you... That sound alright..?_"

Dark stared before nodding hesitantly, looking at the floor as he did. Iblis could tell he was still very tense, and wondered how he was ever going to get Dark to chill out, when Dark had been this way for so long.

"_... With all that timidness, if not for a few physical differences, I'd say I might mistake you for that hedgehog._" Iblis tried to get him more at ease with a somewhat weak attempt at humor. Dark looked up again, tilting his head sideways as if baffled about the effort, as if not sure if that was meant as a comment or to simply get him to smile. "_There's nothing about me to be afraid of anymore... You can calm down and not feel the need to defend yourself. I'm not going to snap at you._"

Dark remained silent, and Iblis just sighed before helping him back to the bed, to which Dark crawled onto (with help, because it was difficult to do so with one hand...) and waited patiently for the book so he could read it.

"_... 'Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal...'_"

* * *

It was now nighttime, and Mephiles did not want to go anywhere where the street lamps did not illuminate. It was a fairly logical reasoning... Considering most of those little monsters seemed to shy away from the light. Most of them.

He could hear the cat sized beasts snarling in the shadows, their neon eyes and accents glowing and giving away their positions. These were Little Rexes, Red Rexes, and Rexes alike...

Larger creatures nearly his size circled the group intimidatingly, and the largest monster of them all dragged something resembling a club that could have been a tree trunk at some point, footsteps thundering and shaking the ground. The largest were called Titans, and the fat ones were Big Mothers.

Creatures looking like upgraded versions of Rexes, much taller, and more ape-like in posture... These were called Nightmares.

Massive, bright yellow hornets, stingers out and aimed. Killer Bees.

Round, squeaking stylized bats with long tails ending in a ball hovered around, spinning in place, sending dark energy orbs from the tails. Dark Bats, this flavor subtitled Sniper.

Mephiles was staring at all this, eyes wide and entire body trembling in fear as he raised his hands upward towards his face, as if once again creating that mental barrier he often hid behind.

Sonic clenched his large, bare hands into fists, getting ready to throw punches left and right.

Tails' posture mimicked Sonic's, but with his furry rear appendages curled and angled slightly in a way to suggest that he was ready to whip them forward if he needed to.

And Chip..? He was still holding the camera, with a face that very much said: "Oops..."

Mephiles was completely frozen with fear, overwhelmed by the sheer number of creatures that surrounded them. If he had to guess, he'd ballpark the number at nearly seventy-two. He felt over a hundred was more accurate, but "accurate" in this case wouldn't help him feel any less helpless.

This was a moment where his instincts were telling him to run away, but his heart said "Don't leave your friends to deal with it!"

Then both of the internal emotions bickered back and forth between which was the better option, leaving the young hedgehog with no chosen action, and merely left him standing there in a fear induced trance, shock still and extremely vulnerable.

An electric shock was sent his way by a giant bee, with the charges sparking off the orb of volts, and he was so frozen with terror that he made no attempt to move. The blank, unfocused and faraway stare made it clear that he didn't even see it coming.

Sonic saw this, and jumped in front of him, the orb discharging through his thick, shaggy fur, most of the hair insulating him from the brunt of the electricity, even though he still tensed from it.

"Hey, kid! Watch out!" Sonic warned him through gritted teeth, before realizing Mephiles didn't even flinch, much less respond. "Mephiles? You still with us?"

If the young hedgehog could hear him, he didn't indicate it. His mind was being assaulted by all the negative energy that radiated and seeped into the air from all the monsters, clashing terribly with his Aura.

A few, he could deal with. A handful, hardly a hum, which was much like Dark on a bad day. Twenty of them left his ears filled with a staticy after-sound. This many blocked all sound except for muffles, the energy clawing at his inner ears, and brought forth a high pitched, single, dragging tone, hypnotic ring. Not captivating hypnotic, but the kind of hypnotic that greatly draws your attention from anything else, dulling all other senses along the way, which scared him.

"Tails! Get him someplace safe!" Sonic shouted, seeing that the younger hedgehog was in no state to defend himself.

"But what about-!"

"I got this!" Sonic dodged a lunge from a bristle-backed, blade-nose creature known as a Deep Nightmare, which had much larger spikes on it's back and snout than the rest similar to this, making it a clear assumption the creature was in charge of that squad.

Tails looked at Mephiles again, who had a somewhat limp look about himself, and exhaled slowly, grabbing his wrist and tugging him forward. Mephiles moved without much resistance, not even looking as though he knew he was being moved.

Tails pulled the hedgehog behind him, and looked for a place to stand his ground, but still able to deflect attacks on the hedgehog until he snapped back to reality. Not very many, it seemed, but the best bet was to have their backs covered by a wall. He figured to try that.

Then he realized that he left the Dummy Ring Bombs back in the front seat of the Tornado, which was well enough away from them that he couldn't hope to retrieve them without leaving Mephiles wide open for an attack.

"Sonic! I forget to grab the Dummy Rings!" He shouted, hoping Sonic would be able to keep as many of the creatures from coming near them as possible until he could get them. "I won't have much to attack with by myself other than my tails, right now!"

A pack of a dozen or so Little Rexes darted forward and stopped just feet from the two kid Mobians. Tails watched them closely, seeing one of them to be slightly larger, with more pronounced spikes on it's back, reddish in color, and standing more upright than the rest, as if it were the more evolved one of the bunch. It stood up front, as if it were the leader.

"Oh, fffffffish..." Tails spoke it as if to use it in place of a curse word, actually seeming to hold back long enough to find a close enough replacement so that Sonic didn't call him out on swearing at such a young age (I'm sure we all remember that Tails is supposed to be an eight year old, right..?).

Now, Tails could just fly right out of this situation, if it was just himself here. But the fact that he was charged with defending a BSODing (Blue Screen Of Death-ing) hedgehog, who had yet to even stare anyplace other than straight ahead, was what was stopping him. He could bring them both into the air for a quick, out of reach defense... But Tails could only maintain flight by his namesakes for so long... And the more he carried, the shorter the time was...

Sonic was too busy trying to bring down the Titan, dodging slams of the club, and shockwaves from it jumping, to see right away that the fox was in a tight spot.

"Hey! Catch!"

Tails looked up at a nearby tree, where Chip was. The fairy dog had a decent sized branch that had been broken off by one of the medium sized monsters being thrown into it. Chip had to hold onto it with both tiny hands, and wrapping his feet around it. It looked as though he had a bit of trouble trying not to drop it due to his small size. Never the less, he was able to get near enough to pass it to Tails, by dropping it a few feet away, but far enough from the Rexes to be picked up and used before the first on leapt at them.

Tails snatched up the branch, which was just a bit thinner than a bat, but enough to not snap in two when he held onto it with both hands and swatted a Rex away, which screeched in fury and pain before disappearing in a puff of purple smoke. None of the other Rexes seemed to get the hint, and continues to jump back and forth in front of him.

"Chaos! Even the Biters are smarter than you things!" He shouted, referring to the orange, fire spewing lava monsters that he and Sonic encountered with Knuckles in Soleanna.

Sonic managed to grab the Titan by it's feet, and flung into onto it's back on top of some of the Nightmares, the smaller creatures dissipating in dark mist with a wailing howl. Doing this launched Sonic into the air, which he used to take advantage of the fallen Titan by unleashing a barrage of punches with his stretching arms from above, finishing off with a strike to the ground. The Titan also evaporated, like th rest.

At the exact time as that, with the number of creatures decreasing, Mephiles' eyes shifted sideways, blinking, before he saw that he and Tails were cornered by Rexes. He jumped back and shouted in shock.

"Oh, you're finally awake now..?" Tails said casually, somewhat relieved that he was going to have help soon. "You kinda blanked out on us there..."

"What in Chaos is happening!" Mephiles was still trying to wrap his mind around how he got from near the fountain to here... And cornered by the creatures. "When did this happen! What in the-! Why is-! Oh *Mephiles said something that sounded like a squeak that could have been in Earth Hedgehog...*!"

"Yeah... We're kinda in the middle of a battlefield here..." Tails seemed unfazed. "Got any special tricks that might pop up right now..? Like that spark thing, or a shield..? Cuz that would be real helpful right about now..."

"I can't control when the sparks happen... But the shield I can do for a little bit before it wears me out..." Mephiles said, eyeing the Rexes carefully. "... So, I can't keep it up for too long..."

"Anything helpful for this, then..?" Tails swung the branch again, the leaves still on it managing to whip one of the Rexes in the snout, causing it to growl angrily.

"... N-not really..." Mephiles stuttered, shuddering.

The red Rex snorted and managed to let loose a high pitched giggle, before it surprised both the fox and the hedgehog and spoke: "Well, you sure look like the one Dire went after..."

"Waitaminute! You _talk!_" Tails' jaw dropped at this. "Why hasn't any of the others done that yet!"

"We don't feel like we have anything important to say to you fuzz-butts, considering we intend to take you out..." The red Rex trilled in it's high pitched voice, lifting it's head a bit to stand more upright.

Mephiles, having froze when the creature spoke, blinked and shook his head roughly before shouting angrily: "What is that thing doing to Dark!"

The Rex tilted it's head for a moment before hopping forward, causing Tails to flinch with the branch.

"Dark, huh..? With that name, it's no wonder he was one of the first singled out." The Rex grinned. "Now, first off; it's not a 'thing'. That would be Dire, one of our higher ranking Rexes here, like me, mind you, he's still pretty low..."

"I don't care about your hierarchy system!" Mephiles snapped, folding his ears back, and looking quite agitated as his fur bristled. "I asked you what he was doing to my brother!"

"Well, now... You sure have a lot of Aura power there..." The Rex seemingly ignored him. "It's just a shame you're practically immune to us."

"... What..?"

"You're virtually a pure soul." The Rex rocked back and forth gleefully. "There's hardly an ounce of darkness in you that can be manipulated enough to control you. It'd be like using a cup of paint to cover a whole house. Too little to cover."

"And this is important... how..?"

"Why do you think you weren't affected at all?" The Rex snorted. "If anything, you made it all the more easier for Dire to-"

Tails didn't even see Mephiles move. The crystal hedgehog already had the red Rex pinned to a tree before he could blink.

Mephiles' eyes were emanating a purplish glow, while the rest of him has an aura of similar colors radiating off him like a dark steam-like substance. His eyes were narrowed and one hand was held up, holding what looked like a violet colored ball of flames. The other hand held the small monster against the tree trunk.

"Now, what is it that you things are doing to people..?" Mephiles said in an oddly calm voice, not at all sounding like the scared hedgehog he was a few minutes ago.

"Why should you worry? We can't even come after you!" The Rex avoided the question.

"Because I need to know exactly what it is Dark is being dragged through so I can help him!" Mephiles snapped, Aura flaring up. "He was getting better before you little beasts ruined everything!"

"And if I don't tell you..? What are you going to do..?" The Rex chirped. "You're too nice to actually hurt something, even if you're powerful enough! Pure hearts don't have it in them to actually kill anything that breathes!"

"Alright, maybe that's true!" Mephiles huffed, powering down the energy he had held in his hand, but the glow in his eyes remained considerably. "Maybe I am too nice... But I can still do this!"

And with that, he let go of the Rex briefly, caught it by the foot before it hit the ground with both hands, and flung it back towards the other Rexes, who all yelped and stumbled around trying to scatter as fast as their short legs could carry them. The red Rex hit the ground and bounced like a ball, flailing it's stubby arms and legs before toppling onto it's face, earning a snicker or two from it's less intelligent counterparts.

"... You... Insolent... Hedgehog!" It shouted before jumping to it's feet, snarling. "No more Mister Nice Rex! Get 'em, boys!"

And the other Rexes jumped forward without question, snapping and yipping. Mephiles immediately powered down completely, folded his ears back, and shouted in shock before hiding behind Tails, who rolled his eyes as he gripped the branch more, preparing to swing it again.

Just then, a large wooden crate fell from nowhere and smashed over the Dark Gaia creatures, causing most of them to disperse into energy with disappointed shrieks and wails. The red Rex stood in the middle of the splinters and wood chips, looking as though it just realized how hopeless this current situation was. It blinked a few time in silence, looking at Mephiles, then Tails, over it's shoulder at Chip, then Sonic, who had thrown the crate.

"... Aw, crud..." Was all it managed before darting away from them, surprisingly fast for something of it's skeletal build.

"Hey! It's getting away!" Mephiles shouted, pointing in it's direction.

"It's just one." Tails shrugged. "We'll probably kick it's butt some other time, anyway..."


	43. I should rename these chapters

Dark had hardly gotten two chapters into the fourth book before he fell asleep, many hours later (Dark is fast at silent reading, but fairly moderate in reading aloud, with very few word stumbles, which he had been doing so to keep from letting the room fall silent.).

He had been laying on his back, holding the particularly large volume upright on his chest to make it easier to hold it open with his uninjured hand, which was starting to not react so much to pressure, now. The book fell page side down on his face, which he didn't bother to move because he was already asleep by the time in fell over.

Iblis glanced at the clock. It was half past midnight, so it was no wonder the younger one was tired from reading out loud for as long as he had.

_Well, he does seem to enjoy the story..._ The flame mused to himself, reaching over and picking up the book and sliding the folded paper, with the picture of Mephiles, in it as a bookmark, before closing it and setting it on the side table on top of the three that had already been finished. _... What a twist with the rat, though..._

He paused. Then he realized something as he looked back at Dark.

_... He's actually sleeping on his back..._ The flame opened his eyes a bit more. _... Willingly. And everything seems alright... He's not freaking out, he's not having a nightmare... He seems perfectly content..._

He half expected it to go downhill from there at that moment, but it didn't, thankfully.

_... He still looks sickly, though..._ Iblis half closed his eyes again. _... Granted, not as bad as earlier in the week, thanks to him actually eating, but still..._

Dark shuddered slightly, biting down on his lower lip before curling up on his side, seemingly trying to escape the cool temperature of the room. He stirred but did not wake up.

Iblis decided to reach for the blanket that had been kicked to the foot of the bed and pull it across the younger twin, but he made the mistake of letting his hand brush against Dark's once injured side.

Immediately, Dark snapped awake with a strangled cry of fright, shoving away forcefully, and causing himself to slip right off the bed, landing with a **WHUMP!** on the floor.

Iblis blinked for a moment, holding the blanket and trying to comprehend what just happened, as this was all rapid succession. Then his eyes widened, he dropped the blanket and he rushed to the other side of the bed, where Dark was curled tightly into a ball, breathing unevenly, trembling and whimpering. Iblis knelt down beside him.

"_Dark! What happened now!_" Iblis didn't realize what he had done that had startled Dark so badly. "_You didn't fall on your wrist, did you!_"

The flame reached over carefully to the shadow, only succeeding in receiving a harsh strike near the center of his face, quite a big of the force directed near his nose. Clapping both hands to it and shouting in pain, he heard scuffling and looked up to see that Dark was now pressed against the nightstand, eyes wide and unfocused, and looking outright terrified.

Taking a short moment to check and make sure his nose wasn't broken (the snout was bound to be bruised, though...), Iblis huffed when he realized Dark was having a fit of some kind, possibly fear related.

_... If it's not one thing, it's another, with him..._ Iblis lowered his hands carefully to the ground to try and convey any sort of body language Dark would be able to (assuming he was even fully aware, that is...) read, and know that there wasn't a reason to be so startled.

It seemed that Dark didn't even notice.

"_... Dark..?_" Iblis said as cautiously as he could manage, moving closer to Dark, but trying not to corner him, as he learned by now that that was never a good idea, especially when the shadow felt endangered.

Dark didn't directly acknowledge if he knew what was going on, but he did draw away from Iblis apprehensively with a low, wailing howl, hardly loud enough to be heard unless you were just inches from the source, which made the older one freeze, knowing exactly at that moment where he had heard that particular cry of fright before...

It had been just moments before Dark screamed for help that night at the hospital...

Iblis' eyes widened in shock, drawing away as well and baffled as to what might have set off the episode Dark was having right now.

_... Well, he was asleep, and as far as I know, he didn't look like he was having a nightmare... I don't think it was the book, either..._ Iblis racked his brain for anything that could explain it. _... In fact, the moment before he started to freak out, I just pulled the-_ He looked up from the ground at nothing in particular, ears perking forward when a possibility struck him. _Wait. He rolled over on his side. He was laying on his right side, which left his left side uncovered. That's the side that has the funny growing hair and was injured twice... Especially that night! I must have brushed it by accident bringing that blanket up, and the thought and feeling of it must have gave Dark such a frightening scare! No wonder he's so upset!_ He lowered his ears in thought just as trails of tears started sliding down Dark's cheeks. _... How do I calm him down, if he's scared of me now..?_

That secondary voice that usually had a response seemed awfully mute at the moment, which caused him to snort out his nose in frustration.

_... Alright then... How would that hedgehog handle this kind of situation..?_

He stared for a moment, trying to think of a safe way to calm him down.

Hugging him, bad choice. Dark would panic at any restriction.

Talking, might work. Provided that Dark actually heard him.

Waiting it out, not good. Might take too long, or it would just get worse.

Nothing seemed to be a good plan, which was actually giving the flame a headache from having each thought come back in a circle.

He needed to help Dark feel safe and secure without coming off as overpowering in any sense, which was a very difficult task for him anyway. How on Mobius was he going to achieve that..?

_... Might as well just start doing trial and error until he manages to break my nose and actually kill me this time during a fit..._ The flame thought unenthusiastically, reaching up behind himself, intending on starting with trying to figure out if he could do his task what what he could grab.

The blanket.

_... Stupid thing got me into the mess. You just had to be needed, didn't you..?_ He mentally argued one sidedly with the covering cloth, frowning in discontent. _... Let's see how much further you can dig me in, why not..?_

Carefully approaching Dark while holding it low, to not look as if he was going to throw it over the shadow's head, Iblis put it in Dark in the fashion one would see on a person with a cold would while sitting on the couch or walking around lazily.

"_... Well, if you manage to blindly beat me senseless after that, at least you're not going to freeze..._" Iblis tried his weak way of humor, flinching and drawing his hands to his face to shield his nose, expecting to be struck again.

Nothing.

Daring to look, he let down his guard and opened his eyes again, seeing that Dark was staring ahead, eyes somewhat clearer now, and touching the fingers of his left hand to his face in confusion, startled at the dampness from the tears.

"_... What happened..? I wasn't crying, was I...?_" Dark looked at Iblis before widening his eyes and looking around, first at the blanket wrapped loosely around himself, then at the bed he was certain he had fallen asleep on. "_... Why am I down here..? What's going on..?_"

"_You had me worried, for one!_" Iblis snapped at him before catching himself the moment Dark twitched at his tone. "_Sorry, I shouldn't be yelling at you... It was my fault to begin with..._"

"_... What are you talking about..?_" It was obvious that Dark didn't understand what was going on, so Iblis took a deep breath and began explain what happened and why he thought it must have been his fault, while Dark listened carefully, gripping the edge of the blanket and pulling it around himself more securely when Iblis told him about unintentionally brushing his hand near Dark's old injury.

"_-And that's the only thing I can think of that would have made you so frightened..._" He finished, nervously scratching behind his ear. "_I didn't mean to have that happen, I was just trying to put that blanket over you..._"

Dark didn't answer, but just looked at the floor, almost as if he were embarrassed for it.

"_Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. You didn't do anything wrong._" Iblis tried to reassure him. "_I admit it, it was my fault to begin with. If that hadn't happened, you would be still asleep right now..._"

Dark just sighed, closing his eyes and pulling the blanket over his head, as if to try and hide.

Iblis hadn't really seen this childish habit of Dark's before, and was perplexed by it even more so when Dark sank lower to the ground, huddled in a curled position, head to the floor, arms drawn in and hands covering his face, and sitting on his knees... All with the blanket covering him.

Iblis only knew Dark had moved to that position only because he lifted the edge of the blanket to see what had happened, and found Dark like that, breathing in and out almost rhythmically, as if in tune to a chant or mantra he had running through his mind.

"_Dark, what are you doing..?_" Iblis hoped Dark wasn't having another one of his nervous breakdown, but readied himself in case he was.

Dark actually paused in what he was doing and carefully lifted his head just enough to show his eyes, to stare at Iblis. His ears, which had flopped forward towards the front of his head limply, stiffened and shifted back timidly.

"_... H-hiding..._" Dark managed in a meek and uncertain tone, as if not even sure that was the right answer.

"_... Why..?_" Iblis tried to not sound forceful, and did not want to seem like he would mock the younger one. He had hoped that he came off as considerate.

Dark looked back at the ground again, and shrugged halfheartedly.

"_... B-because it feels like the b-best thing to d-do..._"

"_Are you still scared, then..?_" Iblis pried further, trying to find what was troubling Dark.

"_... I don't know..._"

"_... You don't know..?_"

"_... No... I don't..._" Dark closed his eyes again and shook his head.

Iblis frowned slightly.

"_Alright, why not just tell me what's on your mind then..?_" He tried.

Dark looked up again, this time nervously.

"_... It's n-not really imp-portant..._" He protested unconvincingly.

"_It's important enough to make you worried._" Iblis pried further.

"_... Hrrrrmmmm..._" Dark groaned miserably, yanking the blanket out of Iblis' hands and pulling it back over his head roughly, trying to convey that he didn't want to talk anymore.

"_Dark, if you let that build up..._" The flame tried exasperatedly. "_It's only going to hurt you more... And I know you don't like being hurt, just as much as anyone else doesn't..._"

"_... When d-did you learn t-to be so nice, anyway..?_" Dark muffled voice sounded from under the blanket.

"_When I realized I had a brother who responded better to that, I guess..._" Iblis said, grinning nervously. "_But really, what's on your mind..?_"

"_... What if I had lashed out like that before with Mephy..?_" Dark finally caved in and started talking. "_If I reacted like that just by being brushed, what if he hugged me and I snapped just because something touched the injury! What if I really hurt him before I came to my senses? I could really throttle him before I even snapped out of it!_" Dark started speaking faster, as if trying to speak in one breath. "_And then what! What happens after that! What if he hates me! Or he's scared of me! He's the only one willing to get close to me! If I screw that up, then I have nothing! Nothing! Anyone else, I can handle being despised by, just as long as he doesn't! And if nit, then surely I'll be sent away, if Shadow has anything to say about it! This is a very serious problem, and it's all your fault!_" He shouted in a raised pitch, possibly because of the amount of air in his lungs was shrinking as he continued to speak. He actually caught himself and inhaled sharply before clenching his left fist and punching Iblis in the arm.

"_Ow! Hey! What do you think you're doing!_" Iblis ducked and dodged the next hit, snarling in annoyance. "_First off, I already admitted that I messed up!_" Before Dark could try again, he caught the shadow by the wrist. "_Secondly, you don't know that's going to even happen! For all we know, this only happened now because _I_ touched your side! Me! The very one who caused it!_" Dark fought back, trying to pull away, so Iblis just let go. "_And third! I don't think anything you do is going to make that hedgehog hate you now!_"

"_But it won't stop the possibility of me being taken away if something goes horribly wrong!_" Dark shrieked, thinned quills puffed out, ears held back, teeth bared and hands clenched (even his injured one, which seemed to be nearing the end of it's recovery...).

Both of them froze.

Dark's tense posture lessened slightly, only to allow himself to sink backwards onto the blanket he had thrown off himself earlier to punch Iblis.

Iblis exhaled slowly, letting himself loosen up.

"_... What makes you say something is going to go horribly wrong..?_" He asked gently.

"_... Because it always does..._" Dark lowered his head dejectedly. "_... I must be cursed or something..._"

"_You're not cursed. You're probably luckier than me..._"

"_Yeah, right... You didn't have to watch your brother go mad, and later have the same happen to you when you're all along..._" Dark snorted through his nose, but didn't look up.

Iblis cringed. He inhaled slowly and then blinked, looking to the ground before looking up and reaching a hand out to Dark's shoulder.

"_... Dark, I know that was a terrible ordeal, and really, I am sorry that you had to go through that, but please..._" He said gently as Dark looked up. "_... Try to understand. No single part of it was ever your fault..._"

"_I should have tried to stop it, is what I should have done!_" Dark snapped, smacking his hand away and drawing further back. "_You got the worst exposure because I was hiding from it! It's my fault!_"

"_Do you know why I got the worst of it? I mean, really why?_" Iblis seemed to ignore that comment.

"_Because I'm inferior! Who would be interested in the inferior when there's something better!_"

"_No. Dark, stop it. I'm sorry I ever put those thoughts in your head!_" Iblis snapped bitterly, cringing again, before grabbing both of Dark's shoulders. "_There was never an 'inferior' or 'superior' between us! The only thing we differ in is age and element! We are twins! If anything, _I'm_ the 'inferior'! Me! Because I caved in to this new and overwhelming force we knew nothing about! I couldn't handle it! It broke me almost right away! It chipped away at me constantly, and, and I couldn't let that happen to you! You were just so happy, blissfully unaware of what was coming, and-!_"

"_Wait, WHAT?_" Dark's eyes grew wide and he reached a hand up and tried to shove Iblis back.

"_I only got it worse because I protected you! I couldn't let this thing come near you, whatever the cost! I just didn't realize that the cost was my sanity!_"

"_... Oh, my God..._" Dark managed in a low tone, eyes wide.

"_And when I found out later that you had replaced me with that hedgehog, I just lost it even more! I felt like he took you from me! It was the only thing that made sense to me at the time! When you were with him, you hated me! You feared me! You wanted nothing to do with me! It infuriated me, and I only tried to get rid of him because I thought you'd come to your senses once he was gone!_" By now, Iblis was actually sniffling through a dribbly nose, and even commented "_What on Mobius is wrong with me!_", referring to in general and the snot.

Dark mouth hung open in shock.

"_I admit it! It was a horrible thing to do! But I felt like you betrayed me, even though I completely disregarded what I did to you in the first place! That hedgehog was sticking his nose where he didn't understand, and was telling me off for what I had done to you! You stayed by his side, and looked at me in such a way, it hurt! You hated me! You really did, and not because of him!_" Iblis let him go and clawed at his own ears, shaking his head. "_You weren't supposed to get between him and I when I was going to attack him! You were supposed to stay right where you were at, but you didn't! You almost gave your life to stop me from hurting that hedgehog! You didn't run away, you didn't hide, you came out and faced me! Before you got slashed, I could see you weren't afraid for yourself, you were afraid for him!_"

"_... Hoooly..._" Dark said in a dragged tone, ears shifting back.

"_And at that moment, I didn't see you! You were me, and he was you and I was that overwhelming force trying to tear us apart! I had become that horrible thing I tried to keep you from! I realized what I had done, and what I had become, and I almost killed you in the process!_" Iblis continued to pour out. "_I told that hedgehog to lie about me because I didn't want you to be so ashamed about it! I didn't want you to blame yourself! I wanted you to think you saved the day, and was a hero! I wanted you to be praised for what you did to help! I wanted you to forget that your brother had been such a horrible monster, even if it was for a moment!_"

"_... This is not happening... This is not happening..._" Dark shook his head. "_... Oh, geeze... YOU'RE REAL, AREN'T YOU!_ Dark got to his feet shakily and pointed at Iblis fearfully. "_YOU'VE BEEN HERE THE WHOLE TIME, HAVEN'T YOU!_"

Iblis' pupils shrank and he drew back, looking up at Dark from the ground nervously.

"_... I never said I wasn't..._"

"_YES YOU DID!_" Dark screeched, grabbing a book, with an apple on the cover, off the shelf and throwing it at him. The book bounced off the top crystal quill stripe on top of his head, and Iblis flinched on impact. "_TELLING ME STUPID LOGIC ABOUT HOW YOU CAN'T DO SOMETHING FOR ME BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT HERE! YOU LIAR! WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP THAT ROBOT FROM PINNING ME WHEN IT WAS TELLING ME IT COULD SNAP MY WRIST! WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP ME FROM SHOCKING MYSELF! WHY DID YOU DRAG ME NEAR THOSE STAIRS WHEN YOU KNOW I'M TERRIFIED OF THEM! WHAT KIND OF SADISTIC MIND GAMES ARE YOU PLAYING AT, HUH!_"

Iblis picked up the book that had been thrown at him.

"_... As bad as this seems, I don't think you still hate me as much as you act..._" He said lowly, ears still flat against his head.

"_OH, REALLY! DO TELL!_" Dark was obviously not going to let up anytime soon.

"_... Well, for one... This book is soft cover... You paused in selecting this one off the shelf, when most of them are hard back..._" He held it up meekly. "_... Also, this book. From what I hear, this isn't the first time it's been used to knock someone around..._"

"_AND HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT!_" Dark snapped. "_WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE NOT AROUND ME! WHAT DO YOU DO THAT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU HAVE TO LEAVE ME WITH THAT METALLIC MENACE, HEH!_"

"_... Perhaps thinking you're just a little peeved is an understatement..._" Iblis continued to respond in the same low tone, not bothering to try and speak over Dark.

Dark inhaled sharply and bit his lower lip while holding his breath, looking all the more livid.

"_There is no word... None! To describe what I am feeling right now..._" Dark finally lowered his voice, sounding a bit hoarse, but nevertheless furious.

Iblis lifted his ears slightly, wiping the corner of an eye.

"_... Well, before you settle on a term..._" He appealed, keeping himself still on the ground to allow Dark to stand and look down on him. "_... Consider this: I have been left alone with you repeatedly for the past month or so... I have only done things that were in your best interest. When you collapsed after realizing the hedgehog was still alive... I made sure someone was going to come and help you. When you had problems breathing properly... I held the air mask over your mouth and nose until you could. I fought with you to get you to eat, so you wouldn't starve. That shadow dome? I got pulled in trying to get you out. I've let you vent on me. I've listened to you. If I was really intending on hurting you after the end of all this..._" The flame continued, scooting closer. "_... Then why am I doing this..?_"

"_... I-I don't know..._" Dark shook his head and took a shaky step back, holding on to the shelf to keep from falling as he was still a bit unsteady in his feet from laying down so much. "_I don't know! It doesn't make sense!_"

"_... Because I'm not going to hurt you again, Dark._" Iblis watched him worriedly. He frowned slightly, getting to his feet and approaching Dark carefully, the younger one leaning back away from him as the shadow clung to the shelf desperately. "_... Dark... Please don't... Not now..._" He reached out and wiped away tears on Dark's cheek, causing the frailer one's body to stiffen, the shadow staring at him fearfully.

Then Dark shoved away from the bookshelf quickly and before anything else could be done... He changed his shape into the one of a scraggily, thin blue mouse with green eyes, and darted for the door in a zigzagging, weaving path, as if too disoriented to keep in a straight line, perhaps even limping on it's right paw.

"_Hey! Wait!_" Iblis called out to the fleeing rodent that had been his younger brother seconds before, amazed that it was able to move that fast. Maybe because Dark was using his front paws to brace himself..? "_Dark! Don't!_" He hurried after him, hoping Dark would simply stop at the stairs like usual, and he could talk him down.

He rushed out of the room and down the short hall, only to find to his horror that Dark the Mouse was attempting to scale the steps, jumping for the edge above him, catching his tiny claws into the grooves, scrambling his feet about until getting his footing, shoving himself up into the top of the step, and repeating so again without pause, visibly breathing rapidly, his tiny rodent body shaking from the exertion, and quickly becoming less and less efficient the higher he got, possibly from the slow creeping realization that he was working himself up onto some stairs.

"_Oh, no... Dark!_" Iblis knew Dark wasn't going to get to the top, mainly because Mouse-Dark was trembling and wobbling so much now that he could now not jump properly to reach the edge of the step about him, and scratched helplessly at the underside of it with one paw, holding his right one off the ground and hopping on his back legs awkwardly.

Dark was on the tenth step... not exactly halfway, but rather high for someone either the size of a mouse, or of the short stature of a Mobian Hedgehog. Iblis tried to get to where Dark was, trying to get to the step above him to block him from trying to get any further, and Mouse-Dark jumped back, too close the edge of the step he was on, lost his footing, and slipped right off the edge.

Now, a small body like that, falling such a short distance, would absorb the impact once he hit the next step, possibly even bounce a little before allowing himself to shake it off and waddle away.

Dark did not take this into account. In his fear and panic, he morphed his shape back to normal as a reflex, gripping the edge of the step his hands could reach, desperately trying to keep from falling the rest of the way, as he laid flat on his stomach against the steps, eyes wide and tearful, ragged breaths the only sound he could muster from his fear.

No matter how you looked at it, all Dark saw was this: He was going to fall down the stairs again. No one was here to help him. Iblis was right in front of him. He wasn't strong enough to fight back.

It was an absolute nightmare for him right now. Worst fear unveiling before his very eyes.

Iblis, seeing how scared Dark was, had to do something for him. He caught him carefully by the arm with both hands and tried to pull him onto the step he was on, but Dark instinctively fought back.

"_... You're making this difficult..._ The flame grunted, keeping his hold on him. "_... If you keep fighting, you'll fall and hit your head for sure... We don't want that, right..?_" Dark only howled in a low tone. "_... Dark, please... Just let me help you..._" Dark tried to push back, but the hand he used was the injured one, and he quickly drew it back with a grunt of pain. Iblis took this as a chance to pull him onto the step he was on, and pulled him into a secure hold, knowing if he didn't, Dark wouldn't be able to react fast enough to keep from falling backwards again. "_Geeze... Don't do that again. You could have been hurt badly..._"

"_... Th-this doesn't make any s-sense..._" Dark stammered in a dazed state, still trying wrap his mind around all this. "_... My head's st-starting to hurt... I f-feel dizzy... I want M-Mephy..._" He whimpered helplessly. "_... I-I want Mephy here, n-now..._"

"_... I'm sorry, Dark... I can't do that for you..._" Iblis sighed grimly. "_... Your head is hurting again..? Can I do anything for that..?_"

"_... I w-want Mephy!_" Dark continued to demand, struggling to pull out of the flame's arms. "_It g-goes away 'round Mephy! It g-goes away!_"

Seeing that Dark was growing hysterical again, Iblis held onto him more firmly, one hand resting on the back of Dark's head to support it. Naturally, Dark didn't like that at all, and screamed: "_GET AWAY FROM ME!_" before sniffling and snorting, trying to catch his breath while trying to keep his nose from dribbling. This was not helping his head, at all.

This went on for several minutes before Dark finally wore down, and slumped against Iblis exhaustedly, squeezing his eyes tightly shut because of his migraine.

"_... Dark..?_ Iblis asked timidly, not wanting to set him off again as easily as he had done so. Dark looked up at him blearily, mouth half open, and eyes slightly out of focus."_... Dark... I know this must have been very... stressful, and shocking to you. I'm really sorry for having to lead you on like that... Really I am... But please understand..._" Iblis tried to explain, hoping Dark could hear him. "_... I didn't think you were ready to know... Not with all this going on right now. It would have too much to bear, on top of you being separated from Mephiles, being mentally tortured almost every night by that thing, how worried you are about the future..._" He looked away for a moment. "_... You need time before you can handle that... I can see that you're still afraid of me..._" He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. "_... And here I was thinking we were actually making some progress beyond that... How silly of me to think that... Not after I've hurt you so badly... Broke you like a pretzel stick, I did..._"

Through his dazed, pained and tired look, Dark managed to crack a small, weak smile, which surprised Iblis.

"_... S-Sounds like you're g-getting it now..._" Dark grumbled, resting his head on the other one's chest, now willingly. "_... Welcome back, B-Brother... I've really m-missed you..._"

Iblis blinked, snapping his head back for a moment when he realized what Dark had said. Then he smiled back, laughing nervously.

"_... I've missed you, too..._"


	44. Someday, renaming

One temple restoration and a plane ride later, Mephiles found himself in Adabat with the trio that he was with.

Upon seeing the surrounding water, Mephiles promptly latched onto Sonic, crawled onto his back, and buried his face in the blue hero's quills, arms and legs wrapped tightly around his body like straps on a backpack.

Something like this, Shadow wouldn't mind, as he knew very well that the young hedgehog did this as a instinctual response to fear, and did so as a way of seeking a safety zone...

Sonic however...

"Hey, kid! What's up with that?" He didn't sound angry or annoyed, but rather concerned at the snuffing, grunting, shuffing, squeaking hedgehog sounds Mephiles was uttering in a state of primal fear.

"I think because he's afraid of water..." Tails offered as some insight. "He's just overwhelmed by us being surrounded by it... Dunno about the chirping sounds, though..."

"What chirping sounds..?" Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"The ones he's making..."

"He's not chirping... I can hear words coming out of that..." Sonic scratched behind his ear. "Not very clearly mind you... But words..."

"All I'm hearing is something like you'd hear from a rodent..." Tails insisted. "Chip? What about you?"

"Sorry, Sonic, but I can't hear anything but squeaks..." Chip sided with Tails, shrugging.

"... Well, either way, if I didn't know any better..." Sonic shrugged back. "... I'd say he's speaking the same way as those little brown counterparts of mine..."

"But it's very rare for a Mobian to be able to speak the same language as the Earth versions, even though we can understand each other anyway..." Tails frowned in thought. "I mean, I can't speak Earth Fox, but I can hear them just the same, and they can understand me alright..."

"Yeah, well, all the same, he doesn't seem to be taking in the place very well, and honestly, he's starting to constrict..." Sonic laughed nervously. "So, if you can help get him off before he crushes my spine, that would be fabulous, lil' bro..."

After some time of pulling, prying, and all that, only for the hedgehog to clasp back on each time, they learned that by scruffing him, he'd immediately lose grip and slip right off, curling up like a kitten.

"I'm going to let you go now..." Tails told him carefully. "And when I do, do not do that again. To any of us. You managed to leave a bruise as how tight you were holding." Seeing Mephiles' appalled look he added hastily: "It's nothing bad! Besides, you don't have to worry around here... That's why we got you that life vest. If something happens, you won't sink and drown. It'll keep your head above water, no matter what."

He let go of the hedgehog, who quickly ran back to the Tornado, scrambled back into the seat, and onto the flooring, still trying to hide.

"... This is gonna be a long day..."

* * *

"_... Let's just get you back to bed now..._" Iblis said in a soft tone, as Dark had his face buried in his white fur patch, eyes scrunched from the florescent lights overhead because of his migraine. "_... Three days is almost up, and it'd be wise to be rested before that thing attacks again..._"

"_... Mmm-hmmm..._" Dark hummed as a response, nodding weakly as Iblis carefully stood up from the step they were on, holding Dark like you would a tired child, and made his way back to the room.

Iblis couldn't help but notice that Dark seemed to weigh hardly anything at all now, and though it made it made it easier to carry him, it was very troubling, because it made it even more noticeable that Dark was underweight for his size and age.

Bringing him back to the bed, he set him down and hesitated on bringing the blanket over him.

"_... Dark..?_" He asked cautiously. "_... I need to move the blanket... You won't freak out now if I brush against you, will you..?_"

"_... I'll try not t-to..._" Dark grunted, holding his hand over his eyes to try and reduce as much light as possible.

"_... I want you to do more than try..._" Iblis huffed, dropping the blanket at the twin's shoulder.

"_... I wonder..._" Dark added idly, giggling dazedly at the thought, half disoriented from the head pain. "_... If they'll let you l-live with us..._"

"_... What..?_" Iblis blinked and stepped back a step.

"_... You need a place t-to live, right..?_" Dark opened an eye wearily, but still managed a feeble smile. "_... You'd probably have t-to sleep on the f-floor like the rest of us... But you get the couch if you're sick..._" Dark inhaled with a giddy squeal, perhaps because his migraine and exhaustion combined was making him act very befuddled. "_... And th-there's this thing called a 'computer' that's really neat... You can f-find almost anything you want see, on it... But only when it's p-plugged to the 'Internet'..._"

"_... You forget that I've been there before..._" Iblis reminded him, trying to get Dark to stop talking and go to sleep.

"_... And there's just so many th-things you should try out..._" Dark continued to babble excitedly, rolling and tilting his head slowly in Iblis' general direction, eyes half closed. "_... H-have you tried eating yet..? Do you have a favorite f-food already..? I'm vegetarian, and I really like melons..._"

"_Yes, Dark, you've told me this before..._" Iblis sighed, holding a hand to his head and rolling his eyes. "_And your favorite of those is cantaloupe, and you want a square one..._"

"_... Who told you..?_" Dark actually pouted in his giddish state, rolling onto his back. "_... Did Mephy tell you..? He's always telling my secrets because he wants people to know me better..._"

"_No... You did..._" Iblis didn't change expressions, but Dark didn't catch on.

"_... Mephy means well, but sometimes I wish he'd just stop trying so hard..._" Dark ignored him, causing Iblis to groan in exasperation, yanking at his own ears. "_... I'm w-worried that it's going to end up getting him hurt one day... That'd b-break my heart all over again, that would..._"

"_Dark, you're starting to speak nonsense..._" Iblis spoke over him. "_... Go back to sleep, and we can pick this up later..._"

"_Break it like glass, or pretzel stick, or maybe even-_"

"_Go. Back. To. Sleep._" Iblis snapped, starting to get annoyed.

"_... Why are you getting mad..?_" Dark asked confusedly, sounding worried now, pulling the blanket over his nose. "_... D-did I do s-something wrong..? I-I didn't mea-!_"

"_Dark! Please! I'm not mad at you!_" Iblis shouted over him, already frustrated anyway. "_I'm just trying to get you to go back to sleep!_"

"_... W-why..?_"

Iblis sputtered for a moment, trying to form a sentence.

"_Because you have a migraine going on right now, and you should be trying to rest!_"

"_... Oh, right... I f-forgot..._" Dark bit his lower lip and cringed, squeezing his eyes shut once more. "_... Owww..._"

Iblis stared at him in disbelief.

"_... How in Chaos do you forget something like that..?_" He asked incredulously.

"_... When something keeps your attention for so long..._" Dark whispered, turning his head to bury it in the pillow. "_... That you kinda f-forget about everything else... You'll consider it, won't you..?_"

"_... Let's talk about it later..._" Iblis insisted.

"_... Promise you'll still be here when I wake up..?_" Dark lifted his head slightly again too look at him blearily.

"_... I haven't left yet..._" Iblis reminded him.

"_... Promise._"

"_Dark..._" Iblis gave him a warning.

"_Promise me..._" Dark insisted in a fierce but still weak tone.

Iblis blinked, then hung his head.

"_... Fine..._"

Dark beamed and set his head back down. He was sound asleep in about seven minutes.

At this point, Iblis calmly stood up from the chair he had been sitting on, crossed the room, out the door, which he closed gently as to not to disturb his younger brother from his sleep, up the stairs, down one or two of the corridors in the floor above, and once he was sure he was out of hearing range of Dark... He screamed in anguish, flaring up his flames, and punching a fist into a metal wall, which left a dent that was no doubt later going to be a mystery to those who could not see him.

"_What am I going to tell him!_" He shouted at no one in particular. "_How do I explain that even though I'm not a ghost or hallucination, he's the only one who can see me right now! He won't understand, and just assume he was delusional during this!_"

He conjured up a flame, a small one because his powers were still capped, and threw it at the wall, leaving a small scorch in the steel.

"_And he's just so excited now! It'd crush him if I said I can't! And even if I could, I doubt that those people would be willing to allow me, considering what a nightmare I dragged them though and-!_"

He froze, getting the overwhelming feeling that he wasn't the only one there now. Turning around swiftly, hoping with every fiber of his being that Dark hadn't followed him and heard all that, but instead saw that blue hedge-bot standing in the same corridor, holding a clipboard in one hand, and the notepad and pen in the other, glowing LED light eyes staring in Iblis' general direction.

_Oh... Geeze... Probably saw the fire..._ Iblis thought, quickly suppressing his energy as efficiently as he could, and stepping to the wall to further avoid the robot.

Metal's eyes followed him, the lights brightening as if the equivalent of eyes widening in surprise.

Iblis tensed, and assumed that he was just taking in the damage of the walls and stepped away from it.

Metal's eyes still tracked him.

Getting unnerved now, determined to prove his logic wrong, he sat down, and was shocked to see Metal look down at him.

"_... Uh... You can see me... Can't you..?_" Iblis asked in a deadpan tone, frowning at this.

Metal dropped the items in his hands and spun around to leave quickly.

"_... Eyup... I'm screwed..._" Iblis still remained calm, getting to his feet and took a moment to see what was on the clipboard. Pinned under the clip was several printouts of images, all of which showing Mephiles during various encounters with other robots that happened to be stationed at each place they were taken at. Many of those showed Mephiles being very characteristic, dodging and hiding behind things to avoid attack. There was one that showed him defending the group he was with, and Iblis pulled it out of the small stack.

"_... If Dark freaked out seeing him protecting someone else, he doesn't need to see this one..._" Iblis stated calmly, igniting the paper with a snap of the fingers on his other hand, burning it to ash. "_... Besides, there's plenty of good pictures here that'll keep him happy until he gets saved... Not like I'm keeping anything from him..._"

Taking a deep breath, he cursed and spun around to run back to the room.

_... I don't get it... Why can I be seen now? Am I starting to exist on this plane now or what? Why? I didn't do anything different in the past month or so!_ He slid to a stop in front of the door, and paused. _... Nothing different... Other than Dark finally accepting me... But that kind of stuff only works in movies and stories... This should be different, right? Right?_

He pushed at the door... And found out it was locked.

He swore.

Pacing back and forth in front of it, he pulled at his ears frantically.

_Oh, geeze... Dark thinks HE'S got it bad... I'M not even supposed to exist anymore! If they find out, who know what kind of Chaos that's going to unleash! I probably deserve to be locked away for what I did, but it's going to break his heart all over if I'm forced to leave him again!_ Iblis was getting close to hyperventilating, feeling the same sort of panic he had when Dark had dropped to the ground and stopped breathing earlier in the week. _... I mean, I'm perfectly willing to take the fall for everything I did wrong... It's just that doing that would shatter Dark worse than a brick through a window! That's not fair to him! He doesn't deserve to be that tied to me! He's happier with the hedgehog anywa-_

Just then, the lock clicked, and the door was pulled open, a tired looking Dark leaning against the frame and looking disappointed.

"_... You said you'd be there when I woke up again..._" Dark looked down at the ground and shuddered slightly.

"_I can explain, but right now-!_" Iblis said quickly, grabbing his shoulders. "_We... Uh... We're going to play a game..._"

"_... I'm not stupid... You need to hide, don't you..?_" Dark sighed, frowning.

"_How-?_"

"_... I could hear you screaming..._" Dark muttered, looking up sadly. "_Metal walls carry sound very well, by the way..._"

"_... You heard all that..?_" Iblis let him go, and gasped.

"_... You could have said 'No'... I would have understood, since it'd be a lot to adjust to..._" Dark closed his eyes. "_We could have made it gradual, and work you in like they did with me, even..._"

"_Dark, I'd love to, but it's very complicated right now..._" Iblis said urgently. "_Mephiles might be willing to allow it, but I can't say the same for the other two. If we do this wrong, because of what I've done... I could be taken away and sealed or whatever, the same way you're afraid of... We might never see each other again if that happens..._"

"_But I've done bad stuff before too, and everything is fine!_" Dark protested.

"_Dark, please... Right now, I need to make myself scarce, because I think..._" Iblis paused before trying again. "_... I think I just stopped being dead..._"

"_You were never really dead..._" Dark exhaled wearily. "_I finally figured it out... You were just in another plane of existence parallel to this one, and I could only see you because I'm your DNA copy, more or less... Twin power, really..._"

"_And I'm here now, beeeeeecause..?_"

"_How the heck should I know..?_" Dark shrugged, and turned away to move back to the bed. "_... I'm not THAT smart. Go hide under the bed, it's such a childish place to look, that guy won't think of looking for you there... And if they ask, I won't tell..._"

"_Thank you, you're precious, and I love you!_" Iblis responded with a clap of the hands, spoke quickly, and did as Dark suggested before Dark had crawled back onto the bed.

"_Dang right, I am..._" Dark smiled smally, pulling the blanket over his head.

* * *

After a lot of frantic gesturing, and persistence, on account of having dropped his communication tools, Metal managed to get his creator to the scorched corridor.

"Metal..." Eggman said slowly. "Did you do this..?"

If Metal Sonic could throw his head back and scream in frustration, he would. He instead slapped both hands to his forehead, dragged them down, mentally uttering a gurgle of pure annoyance, dropped to his knees and shook his head, thinking to himself how this man could have ever been able to assemble him.

_Maybe I'm a mail order from a catalogue..._ Metal thought, this being the robot equivalent of contemplating the possibility of being adopted.

Snatching up his notepad and pen from the floor, he quickly scrawled down: _There's another one of them!_

"Another one of what?"

Metal glared before writing: _Those two hedgehogs! There's a third one!_

"What? That white one? That's not new..."

Metal fought the urge to bash his own head against the wall.

_No! The crystal hedgehogs! The one that we have here, and the other one out there? There's a third one, and he controls fire! THAT'S why the walls are burned!_

"Don't be ridiculous, Metal. We would have seen him before now."

Metal's ocular display didn't change expression, but he scribbled down something else without looking, stood up, walked over to Eggman, grabbed his arm, dragged him to the room in a minute, pushed the door open with enough force that it slammed against the wall, shoved the Human in, tore the page off his notepad, and held it up.

_WELL THEN, LET'S ASK HIM!_

The last word was underlined three times.

The Doctor supposedly blinked behind his dark lensed glasses. Who the heck can tell, anyway?

"Now, really Metal... Can't you see that he's asleep?"

One digital pupil shrank while the other stayed the same, as if Metal were twitching an eyelid. He actually sparked a few times, before throwing the notebook at Eggman and stomping off.

"... I worry about him sometimes..." The Human held the notepad and shrugged before leaving the room, not even bothering to investigate.

* * *

Let's jump back to Shadow and Rouge shall we? It's been a while...

"Do you think it should be tiled, or carpeted..?"

"With the claws those two have?" Shadow peeked over the wall of his cubicle. "Carpet. Tile would just get gouged, and then we'd have to replace it all over again... Not worth the time, and besides... Carpet is more comfortable."

"Alright. Carpet it is..." Rouge wrote down a note, and smiled slightly. "Interesting that you put Dark into consideration... I would have expected you to just think of Mephiles..."

"What?" Shadow's eyes went wide and he ducked down to walk around the wall between them and fold his arms. "Oh, please! I'm just thinking of all the damage Dark could do if we got the wrong materials. Why would I care about what he thinks? I didn't say anything about Dark. Why would you think that?"

"Aw, I think you're finally getting over your grudge..." Rouge teased, reaching over and patting him on the head, causing Shadow to drop his arms and stare at her, appearing patronized. "Good for you!"

"For the last time, keeping him happy keeps Meph happy. Otherwise, I wouldn't care..." He folded his arms again and turned away, nose in the air. "Green is a bad choice of color for sheets, by the way. Maybe the crystals color..."

Rouge looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you hear yourself?"

"MEPH'S! I MEAN MEPH'S CRYSTAL COLOR!" Shadow caught himself and spun around, holding his hands out to the side and clenching his fists. "Geeze, just because they both look similar doesn't mean anything. But purple for Meph, I think..."

"So you think light blue is a good choice for Dark because..?"

"He likes Meph. He doesn't like green. Give him something that's matches to Meph, he'll be happy, and he won't tear our couch apart again. Simple." Shadow waved a hand halfheartedly once he stopped standing so tense.

"Not a bit of logic in there makes any sense, Shadow..." Rouge sighed, shook her head and continued to write things down. "Now, I've been taking this into consideration: beds. Obviously, nothing too big, but even though it'd save space to go for bunk... There's a possibility of that being a danger to a certain somnambulist between them..."

"He won't even go near the ladder."

"So then you just want to give Mephiles no say in which one he gets to choose? Not to mention, if he wakes up after a nightmare, and we have to calm him down, it's difficult to get to him compared to another bed. Or if he falls off trying to get to us while half asleep..." Rouge twirled the pen in her hand. "He'd get hurt. It's a bad idea all around. No bunk bed. At all."

"Okay, how about a trundle?"

"And let me guess, Dark sleeps on the floor one that gets shoved away all day..?"

"Why not?"

"Okay, that settles it!" Rouge clapped her hands once. "We'll get two normal twin beds. Normal."

"What's wrong with the trundle idea?"

"Do you realize that Dark might not be happy about being forced to have something that might be seen as inferior?" Rouge reasoned. "We're supposed to help his self esteem, not drive it into a ditch."

"Huh... Good point. Wouldn't want him to snap because of a bad choice in sleep furniture..."

"Pretty much. Now, we probably should have at least one window installed..."

"Why? We're already paying for new walls and a door..." Shadow looked back at her. "We'd have to mess with a wall that's already put in to get the window there..."

"Because without a window, it'd be uncomfortable. And Dark's claustrophobic, from what it looks like, so giving a window as an option would allow him to open the area a bit more, and all that. Also, safety reasons."

"Such as..?"

"Fire escape. Quick exit outside if that happens."

"Oh, c'mon. What's the chances we're going to have a fire?"

"Apparently less than us finding ourselves with two very powerful kids who keep getting pulled into the strangest problems..." Rouge said lowly, realizing the chances were probably pretty slim given all the other things they deal with on a weekly basis. "But all the same, I doubt we'd get clearance for doing this if we didn't have this come up to safety regulations... And I KNOW you wouldn't intentionally endanger Mephiles if you wanted to make Dark uncomfortable..."

"..." Shadow paused. "What about two windows, in case the first one decides not to work?" He added quickly. "It has to be safe for Meph, after all."

"Wonderful."

"How come they get new beds, and I still have to sleep on the floor anyway?" Shadow pointed out. "I've been here longer, and it's not like we're strangers anymore... And your bed is one of those queen sized ones... Sooooo..." He raised his eyebrows with a small grin.

Rouge stared, before blushing and turning away.

"Maybe we'll have enough left over to get you a mattress you can shove under the bed during the day..."

"Oh, you tease..." Shadow half pouted, shaking his head and snorting.

* * *

Dire was gleefully counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds until time was up, tapping each count in tune on the tank wall he had his back to, hitting it each time with this back of his hand.

Krad flinched and cringed as each tap on the glass, which left an echoing **BUNK!** each time another second was counted. The caged creature's right eyelid and cheek twitched as a low growl formed in it's throat, slumped forward in it's shadowed Dark form, glaring at Dire.

"Eleven hours, fourteen minutes and seven seconds." Dire stated, tapping three times.

Krad snapped and threw itself at the glass wall, slamming it's head into it, trying to break through.

Dire paused, and looked over his shoulder at the demon, somewhat annoyed.

"You won't make me lose count... I've got a sense of time built into me like you wouldn't believe..." He smirked and lifted his hand. "Eleven hours, thirteen minutes, and forty-nine seconds..." This time he tapped four times.

Krad screamed in fury, cycling through as many forms as it could think of to give each one a chance at slamming, punching, kicking, and scratching the glass wall.

Ending on the shaggy, shadow wolf, Krad dropped to the ground, sprawled out exhaustedly, panting heavily with it's tongue hanging out.

Dire grinned.

"Eleven hours, eleven minutes, and twenty three seconds." Five taps, just to be cruel.

Krad whined like a dog.

* * *

Iblis sat in the nearby chair, feet dangling loosely above the ground, as this wasn't exactly a chair made for Mobians. He was watching Dark carefully, worried that once Dire started to torment him again, it would be while he slept, as he had no idea when the time would be up exactly.

Getting off the chair, he reached over and replaced the blanket back over Dark's shoulders, as he kept shoving the covers off, then soon acting as if his shoulders were cold. This was the fifth time now, but he didn't mind. He'd gladly do that all night, if he had to. He wanted to keep busy well enough that if even the slightest thing seemed off about Dark, he could act fast.

_... That was close with the robot earlier..._ He looked up at the clock, seeing that it was now about three in the morning. _... I have no idea what would have happened if I got caught..._

He pulled the blanket back up again, and he was exasperated to see Dark stir this time, though still very sleepy looking.

"_I'm sorry, Dark..._" He apologized softly, shaking his head. "_It's still late, just go back to sleep..._"

"_... Mmmkay..._" Dark yawned, for a moment his sharp canines glistening in the dim lighting of the room (Iblis had left the lights on a low setting so he himself could still see somewhat). Eyes drooping, he added: "_... Ask you something..?_"

"_... Depends on how long it'll take._" Iblis said truthfully. "_You should be asleep..._"

"_... Why did you kill his family..?_"

No matter how sleepy Dark sounded when he said that, no matter how much slurring of the words from exhaustion there was, and no matter how much how quiet and soft the voice was... He just as well should have wrote it on paper, tied it to a brick and throw it right at Iblis' face, because the flame looked as though someone had done so with him.

He shook his head, trying to recover.

"_... This isn't the sort of thing you need to hear this late at night..._" Iblis frowned disapprovingly. "_My reason was never valid, and by all means, it was unintentional... They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time... I'll explain further some other time, but right now..._" He sighed. "_... Just go back to sleep... Please..._"

Dark stared with no real expression for a while, the only thing notable was that he just seemed as dazed he he normally was after being awakened before he was ready to be.

Then he settled back down, nuzzled his nose into the pillow, sighed and drifted back to sleep.

Iblis stepped away, a hand half covering his face.

_... I nearly overlooked that... The hedgehog isn't going to be as understanding as I originally thought, if that's still fresh in the mind..._ He thought miserably.


	45. Stuff Happens

It was at least twelve in the afternoon, and Dark was pleased to have finally gotten rid of the grimy, sticky feeling his fur had been accumulating in his time here, once he had legit confirmation he felt like he could trust, if the collar was not going to electrocute him if in contact with water.

The truth was, it _was_ waterproof... But it was still set to go off if tugged at the wrong way. Bad if he was been in any contact with water at all.

In short, it was allowed to be temporarily removed for his safety, but, again for his safety, it would have to be put back on just as soon as he had dried off, so that the rather warm temperature of the entire base would not clash with his core body temperature.

All in all, he didn't see why it was so important to have it done so soon, because the particular room he was being housed in had an air-conditioning system, and that being the case, he wasn't going to overheat as quickly as he did in the cell. He amounted the precaution as simply a way to be sure he was kept were he was.

_As if the stairs don't count for much..._ He thought sarcastically, touching a hand to his now slightly sensitive neck, where the collar had been, and was going to go back on. _... If not for the shock part, this thing wouldn't be so bad, since it let's me be where I'd normally get pretty ill from the heat... If I steal it, I wonder if that can be modified..? So I'm not zapped every time I touch my neck..._

Trying to carefully dry his quills, he heard a thin snapping sound and reluctantly lifted the towel to find another brittle quill embedded in it, the end that had been closest to his head was split and frayed, obviously reflecting his own poor condition.

Normally, this kind of thing never really bothered him, as he often did not care about much of anything when this happened. But at that moment, he pulled it out of the towel, inspecting every imperfection of the quill, such as where it had the most break in it, and the thin flaky layers that normally healthy quills did not show or have.

"_... Mephy's going to be so disappointed in me about this..._" He mumbled, thumbing carefully at the crystal tipping, surprised to see it bend when it should not. "_... He was so happy when these started growing back..._"

A few minutes later, it was safe to replace the collar, and once that was done, he was left alone again... At least until Iblis felt it was safe to come out of hiding., which took longer than normal, as the mute blue hedge-bot stuck around longer than it should, determined to prove everyone wrong, but he was quickly forced to leave Dark alone by being forcefully escorted by his fellow robotic creations. He could have easily destroyed each one of them to continue doing what he wanted, but didn't want to have to bother with the eventual reprimand he knew he would receive. He simply gave Dark an "I'm watching you..." look.

After it was certain the only ones left in the general area were the two elements, Iblis, who hid in the sink cabinet this time, because they were certain Metal would check under all the beds (which he did...), shoved the door open and crawled out, not looking too pleased.

"_Do you have any idea how humid it is under there?_" He complained. "_That's not normal! Something must be wrong with the-_"

"_Or, y'know, it could be the heat you give off that reacts with the temperature and moisture..._" Dark looked up from the quill casually.

"_Well, anyway, that's a terrible place to have to hide in!_" Iblis snorted, before taking notice of what Dark had in his hand. "_... Another one..? Is there any way to stop them from falling out..?_"

"_It's generally a stress related thing... Happens to Mephy sometimes..._" Dark dropped his arm to his side, still holding the quill loosely. "_... Lack of proper care is another factor... At this point, not much can be done other than letting the rest fall out and grow new ones back... Which takes longer with me, for some reason..._"

"_... Would the lack of eating have anything to do with that as well?_" Iblis commented, seeing where that quill might have dropped from, as there was a broken base of one on the outer layer of the left middle set.

Dark narrowed his eyes.

"_... It's not my fault._" He said defensively.

"_I'm not... Uh... Just forget it..._" Iblis knew Dark wasn't going to directly admit that he may have caused the weakening of his quills by his own personal neglect.

"_... Fine by me..._" Dark said gladly, closing his eyes and tilting his head back a little to bring his nose in the air.

Iblis sighed inaudibly.

"_... You seem to be standing better..._" He added, noticing that Dark wasn't as unsteady on his feet as he had been the day before. "_... Just try not to push yourself, though..._"

"_I'm not going to faint again, if that's what you're worried about._" Dark opened one eye and snorted through his nose. "_I feel fine right now, better than I have been all month..._"

"_... All the same, I'd feel more at ease if you just went back to the bed, sat down, and either read something, or watched that picture thing..._"

"_I believe the words you are looking for are either 'Television' or 'TV'..._" Dark bit back a smirk at the older one's lack of knowledge in that sort of thing.

"_Are you laughing at me?_" Iblis blinked, raising an eyebrow. "_I haven't had the same kind of freedom you've had for discovering this kinda stuff. I've been delusional for about a decade..._"

"_As was I... It's really not too difficult to learn once you get the gist of it..._" Dark seemed to be enjoying his better skill at the subject than his twin. "_If you decide to stick around, maybe you'll learn from watching us-_"

"_Dark, I'm not going to promise that I'm going to live with you... It's too complicated right now, and you know it. _" Iblis sighed, shaking his head, Dark's smirk fading slowly. "_They won't let me, for sure, and to top it all off, I'm supposed to be dead. In fact, Mephiles has every right to say 'No', if he's the deciding factor..._"

"_But Mephy's got a good heart! He'll see that you're not the same bad you from before!_" Dark added quickly and desperately, dropping the quill. "_I mean, look at what I've done to him before! He's let me start over, and now, he's like my best friend! I-I mean, I don't really have any other friends, b-but if I did, he'd be the best one of all of them! He's my br-!_" Dark cut himself off before he could say the word, instantly worried that if he termed the hedgehog in that way in front of Iblis, that the flame might get upset over that. Breathing in and out carefully, he tried again. "_... He loves me as though I'm his family... If he can overlook what I dragged him through, and do all that for me... I'm sure he'll be willing to try with you if I asked..._"

"_... But what I did to him was something that can't be so easily forgiven..._" Iblis said in a low voice, looking down. "_... I invaded his mind-_"

"_I did, too!_" Dark countered, trying to explain all of it away.

"_... I got him hospitalized more than once in a short time-_"

"_I did that _months_ before you!_"

"_He probably has nightmares because of what I did-_"

"_First!_" Dark raised a hand, sounding a bit higher pitched as the desperation got worse.

"_I made him see things he didn't want to see-_"

"_That's nothing new!_"

Iblis glanced sidewise at him and said: "_... I ended up killing his family..._"

Dark inhaled as if about to speak, but paused before closing his mouth again and looking at the floor, wide eyed.

Iblis continued.

"_... And when he started to bond with you, I almost took you away from him..._" Iblis frowned, shaking his head. "_... I almost took you away from me, even..._"

"_... But that didn't end up like that..._" Dark tried to counter. "_... I'm not dead, and..._" He paused, looking up, trying to think of something positive to add. "_... I-If Mephy finds out you've been looking after me this whole time, then maybe he'll give you a chance..._"

"_... I'm not going to make any promises when I'm not even sure it'll turn out the right way..._" Iblis pressured again. "_Because it won't be fair to you if I say 'Yes', and it never happens..._"

The disappointment in Dark's expression actually stung quite a bit to look at. In fact, any good feeling Dark managed to build up over the night seemed to sap away, making the frail young shadow look just as listless and depressed as he nearly always did.

Dark half closed his eyes, sighed, and let his arms hang at his side as his lowered his head and looked at the floor.

"_... Okay..._" He muttered, lacking any enthusiasm whatsoever.

Iblis felt like he had just accidentally kicked a puppy that trotted into his walking path.

"_... Dark... Please don't..._" He shook his head, reaching out for the shadow, who shoved away with a low groan, sounding like he didn't want to have any contact at all at the moment. Iblis persisted anyway. "_Dark, c'mon now... It'll be alright... We'll worry about that when we get to it..._"

As Dark could only resist by pushing him back rather than try and step away swiftly (he was still not recovered enough to move quickly...), Iblis finally succeeded in catching him securely to try an calm him down before he lapsed into a fit of some kind from being upset. Last thing they needed was Dark's powers going haywire and enveloping the place again...

Dark didn't struggle this time, and just slumped against him, putting his arms over the flame's shoulders, as if wanting to be picked up.

"_... Dark, are you alright..?_" Iblis was already concerned before, but once Dark started trembling, his worryment only worsened. "_... You're shaking..._"

"_... My head's buzzing..._"

"_... It's doing what now?_" Iblis blinked, lifting his ears.

"_... Dizzy... Sp-spinning..._" Dark clung to him tighter, as if afraid he was going to fall. "_... Know th-this f-feeling... B-blackness comes next... Th-then silence..._"

"_... Are you trying to tell me that you feel like you're going to faint?_" Iblis only stated that calmly because he felt that Dark would be able to keep from panicking if he could hear reassurance that he wasn't losing it, and that there was indeed a term for his feeling (in such a state as he was now, even the simple terms he could say at the drop of a hat seemed to escape such familiar simplicity). "_... Would it make a difference if you laid down..?_"

"_... B-Blood pressure might f-fix its-self..._" Dark stuttered, clenching his teeth and inhaling sharply. "_C-Counter th-the effects..._"

"_Alright then, I'll take you back over to the bed..._" Iblis agreed, cautious with Dark as if afraid that glass was easily more resilient than the poor shadow. "_If you can, keep talking with me so that I know right away something is wrong if you stop doing that..._"

"_... T-talk about w-what..?_"

"_What ever you want. It doesn't matter, just as long as I can hear you..._" The flame forced a short nervous laugh, more like an "_Uh-heh..._", as if trying to sound perfectly composed, trying merely to keep his younger brother at much at ease as he could, knowing that Dark seemed to react to Iblis' emotions in one way or another, perhaps primally reacting on the notion that Good Feelings equated to Safety and Praise, and Bad Feelings equated to Painful Reprimanding, once upon a time ago.

"_... I m-miss my c-cat..._" Dark managed in a low tone as he was set down on his side. "_... I s-swear, I've b-been away f-from him longer th-than I've b-been with him..._"

"_... He's still very young, so you'll have plenty of years to make up for that..._" Iblis tried to sound supportive, trying to pry Dark's arms off him so Dark could be laying more comfortably, by Dark responded with a moan of discontent. "_Now, please, you'll be more comfortable if you let me go..._"

"_... I b-beg t-to differ..._" Dark muttered, shaking his head slowly.

"_I'm not going anywhere, if that's the problem._"

"_... Wh-where have I h-heard that one b-before..?_"

"_... Was it really necessary to bring that up..?_" Iblis felt an odd sting at that.

"_... You s-said talk... I'm t-talking..._"

Iblis finally worked Dark's arms off him and carefully pinned them to the bed to keep him from latching back on right away. Dark wasn't too pleased at that.

"_... Y-you'd th-think you'd be p-pleased with me wanting to h-hug you..._" Dark grunted, glaring.

"_Not that I'm rejecting it, it's just that you should be down completely to counter that fainting feeling..._" Iblis reminded him, exhaling a puff of air in exasperation. "_I'm only doing what's the best option..._"

"_... D-don't feel f-faint anymore..._"

"_But you're still stuttering._" Iblis raised an eyebrow at him. "_Either way, I'm not letting you back up until _I _think it's passed._"

"_Th-that's not fair! You'll h-have me d-down f-for the rest of th-the afternoon if you h-had it your way!_" Dark raised his voice, and panted a bit once he finished, sounding a bit out of breath.

"_Sounds like I don't need to think up a reason, then._" Iblis smiled teasingly. "_Good to see you helping out._"

Dark managed some angry stuttering sounds before managing more clearly: "_Th-that wasn't a s-suggestion!_"

Iblis grinned a little now, and lifted his hands to free Dark's wrists.

"_Try to get up, and I'm just going to push you back down._" The flame warned, still holding the grin, as he poked a finger to Dark's forehead as a reminder, much to the shade's annoyance. "_At the very least, I'd like it if you stayed down at least until it's been a half an hour._"

"_C-C'mon! I've already s-slept a lot!_"

"_You don't have to sleep, just rest._"

Before Dark could respond, his eyes went rather wide and, for all accounts, quite fearful. The trembling returned, but not from exhaustion.

"_Dark..? What's-?_" Iblis started to ask before it dawned on him. "_Oh, no... The three days are up, aren't they..?_"

Dark's response was simply attempting to jump off the bed in a blind panic, trying to escape the voice only he was able to hear. He clamped his hands over his ears, which did nothing to stop it from ringing clearly in his mind.

'_Times up, Dark. I've gotten rather bored without you... We should play a game of sorts when you get back!_'

Dark didn't want to hear any of it. He didn't want to find out what the "game" was. He didn't want to hear that horrid high pitched voice piercing his thoughts and trying so hard to break him further.

He hardly got four shaky steps away from the bed before he felt someone wrap their arms around him and pinning his arms to his side to keep him from running away. Because he was panicking, he didn't realize Iblis had done that to keep him from getting hurt by no doubt running into things, or collapsing and hitting against something. Dark started to struggle and fight back, crying out in fear, kicking his feet, butting his head back, begging to be let go.

"_Dark! It's just me!_" Iblis tried to reason with him helplessly, stunned by how fearful the young shadow had gotten in a matter of seconds.

A shift in grip was a mistake and led to being just enough for Dark to be able to move a little and clamp his teeth down on the twin's forearm. Iblis inhaled sharply, gritting his own teeth as a reaction, but tried his best to ignore how much it hurt. After all, he wasn't the priority... Dark was.

Dark didn't let go, his teeth going a little deeper as he held on. He continued to tremble, and his eyes, though squeezed almost as tightly shut as his jaws, allowed trails of tears to slide down his now somewhat paler face as he gripped at the forearm with both hands as well.

One eye squinted from pain, Iblis surprised himself when he attempted to carefully coax the terrified shade into letting go.

"_Dark... Any deeper and you're going to hit bone..._" Iblis managed to state calmly, reaching his free hand to rest on top of Dark's head, hoping it would help in calming him. "_I know you wouldn't intentionally do that, but you're getting very close to that... And honestly, it kinda hurts..._"

Dark's bite didn't change even in the slightest, be it clamping down further or letting go. Iblis wasn't even sure Dark heard him.

"_Dark, I'm serious. It's starting to really bleed here, and I really don't want that in your mouth._" Iblis gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain of the bite.

Still no response. Iblis' arm was starting to get numb.

"_I don't want to have to do this... But you just don't seem to hear me..._" The flame said in a low tone, shaking his head slightly and pulling his hand off the shadow's head. He inhaled sharply again and closed his eyes. "_Dark, I apologize in advance for this, but I can't seem to get through to you... Oh, geeze..._"

With that, he lifted his free arm and smacked Dark once across the face. Immediately, Dark let go by falling back and landing on the floor, sitting up in a way that showed that he fell back, and with his hands to his cheek, staring up at the flame fearfully, still trembling, and breathing rather quickly.

"_Oh, geeze... I didn't want to have to do that..._"

That feeling Iblis had earlier about having felt like he kicked a puppy? Now he felt like he had stepped on the kicked puppy's paw trying to move around it.

"_Dark, I'm sorry about that..._" He tried to explain, lowering himself down to be level with Dark, who drew away from him quickly. "_But you-_"

"_You liar!_" Dark finally managed in a choked whisper, eyes filling with tears again as he started to glare at him, bringing a hand a bit lower to feel against his jaw, which probably felt a bit bruised from the force of the hit. "_You horrible liar! You... You said you weren't going to hurt me again! That hurt! That really hurt! You lied to me! You lied!_"

That figurative kicked and stepped on puppy was now limping on it's hurt paw.

Iblis knew that Dark was too upset to really listen to him, so he didn't even bother to try. Looking down at the floor, he stood up, holding onto his bitten arm, which he let hang limply at his side, and stood there, not sure of what to do as the bite wound bled from under his hand, a few drops of blood hitting the floor.

Dark saw this, and his glare lessened slightly. Then his eyes rounded a fraction when he realized just why his mouth had a strange metallic aftertaste, briefly causing him to gag twice, and reach for the blanket on the bed to bite down on it, trying to clear the traces of blood from his mouth, shuddering disgustedly.

"_... I r-really hope I d-didn't swallow any of th-that..._" Came as a muffled response through the blanket he was biting down on, ears going limp and drooping forward.

"_... Those went in deep..._" Iblis said, lifting his hand to look at the progress of coagulating was doing, and was anxious to see the bite punctures were steadily dribbling out blood, already coating most of his palm. "_... Well, that can't be good..._" He still surprisingly remained calm about this. "_... How long does it take to clot..?_"

Dark stared at him with a mildly horrified look, trailing his gaze to the droplets that have hit the floor, having slid down the flame's arm, passed his wrist and off his fingers.

Then he stated the obvious.

"_... Oh Chaos! You're bleeding!_" Dark shouted as if it had just sunk in.

"_Yeah... About that... Is there a quick way to stop it..?_" Iblis half closed his eyes. "_Because it'd be hard to explain the blood on the floor if you're supposed to be the only one here, and you're not the one bitten..._"

"_There isn't really a med kit here..._" Dark twitched an eyelid at the thought of what he did. "_Best I can say is wash it with soap and water, and apply pressure to it..._" Then Dark's face paled slightly, and he turned away, squeezing his eyes shut. "_... Oh, geeze... I feel sick now... I-I can't get the rest of that taste out of my mouth..._"

"_To be fair, I probably shouldn't have tried to restrain you while you were freaking out..._" Iblis explained, shifting his ears back subtly as he glanced back at the conjoining bathroom. "_I should take care of this as soon as possible... I don't have anything to press to it, though..._"

"_... T-Tissue... That should be f-fine..._" Dark sounded as though he wanted to keep talking to a minimum, as he tried to fight off the sick feeling.

"_Alright... I'll go take care of that then..._" Iblis nodded and left for the sink, carefully lifting the hand of the injured arm to turn the faucet the hottest setting he could get (To note, Iblis' body evaporates most water that doesn't steam, because of his element being a flame.).

He then touched a finger to the water, adjusting it until he didn't hear a hiss from it anymore, and quickly stuck his arm under it, rinsing off the blood to find that the punctures, though deep, were not really very big and the blood had simply spread on his arm from both his other hand and gravity.

"_Well, that's good, I guess..._" He said in a low tone, continuing to clean up. He spoke up louder for Dark to hear. "_It's not nearly as bad as it looks. No harm done._"

Drying his arm carefully, and taking the tissues and folding them in such a way that they'd be most absorbent, he had to improvise with more to wrap around his arm to keep it all in place somewhat, so that his other hand could be more freely usable.

Grabbing a few more tissues, and getting them damp with warm water, he intended on cleaning up the spots of his blood that had dripped on the floor to try and keep any signs of his existence in this room to a minimum, as that blue hedgehog shaped robot seemed to be snooping around as often as it was allowed to try and prove that the fire element did indeed exist.

However, before he could get to that, his attention was drawn swiftly to his younger twin, who was now huddled in a heap on the floor, holding his head, shuddering and making various unintelligible sounds of protest, with only a few of them being audible enough to pass for "_No!_", "_Liar!_" and "_Stop it!_"

Iblis dropped the wet tissues and quickly moved to be beside Dark, trying to decipher if this was yet another nervous breakdown brought on by being appalled at biting down on the flame's arm, or if it was the little monster residing in Dark's mind at the time being, who was trying to once again break Dark.

_I need to be cautious... He might bite me again..._

Iblis was at a loss once more, well aware that in reality, nothing he did was going to help much when that thing was able to be left alone with Dark every second, especially in the mind place, where time had no constraint, and potentially hours and even days could seem to pass when it could have been merely seconds and minutes in reality.

The moment Dark forcefully smacked his own head into the tiled floor hard enough for a crystal quill on the coated marking on his forehead to chip at the material, all considerations Iblis was having about his own safety were off and the flame quickly wrapped his arms around the frail twin, pulling his head away from the floor, pinning his arms to his side, and putting most effort into keeping Dark immobilized for both of their safety.

This time, Dark didn't even seem to notice, or if he did, it was the least of his concern.

Dark continued to tremble and cry out in anguish, answering to the voice only he heard.

To Iblis' great disappointment, Dark eventually lost consciousness, and he knew that that meant that Dark was now where that little beast was, no doubt at his mercy.

* * *

"Oh wonderful! You decided to come back!" Dire clapped cheerfully, contrasting the real seriousness of the situation.

Dark was quick to draw away, the only sounds coming from him was the sharp inhales of air he was taking as he stepped back and bumped into the plexiglas wall of the tank that housed Krad. He flinched, expecting the caged creature to jump up and slam it's body into the clear wall, but when it didn't, he quickly looked over his shoulder and was shocked to see Krad just sitting there on the floor, leaning forward with it's hands in front on it on the ground, one eye half closed, and otherwise listless. So shockingly out of character for the shadow being this was, that Dark knew right away something wasn't right at all.

Throwing his gaze back to Dire, who seemed sickeningly delighted that he had something to do now, Dark bared his teeth slightly, making his stance more on the offensive side rather than defense, which was something he hadn't done in a while.

"_What did you do this time!_" Dark barked, taking a moment from where he stood to examine each lock he could see to find out if the security measure had been breached. Nothing.

"Oh, I've done nothing!" Dire faked a hurt looked, reaching his hand to his face to complete it. "I've stayed away from the locks like you said! I've just been counting the seconds down until time was up-!"

"He's been doing nothing but pounding on the tank the whole seventy-two hours!"

Dark froze, pupils contracting to the point that they looked like pinpricks. Dire didn't say that. _He_ didn't say that. That left...

Spinning around one-eighty, he found Krad standing now, head pressed against the glass in a rare display of exhaustion, but never the less looking livid as ever.

"_Oh, Chaos... You can talk now..._" It wasn't a question, but rather a blatant observation in a dead tone, as if Dark simply decided to accept the "Yeah, sure, why not?" approach lately.

"Of course I can, idiot! Just because I don't feel like conversing with you doesn't mean I'm a brainless beast as you like to cage me as!" Krad snarled, glaring in such a way, Dark was thankful the expression of such stares "being able to burn a hole in a wall" was nothing more than an idiom, because Krad looked as though he'd (as Krad has proven to have at least some form of sentience, all pronouns shall now be of "him" flavor...) be happy just being able to attack either Dark or Dire, so long as he got to do at least one of them.

Dire, however, was ecstatic at this new development.

"Oh, I just knew there had to be some smarts in that noggin of yours!" He giggled like a kid being given a plate of cookies all to themselves. "It's only natural, given that you're a shadow creature, but all the same, sure took you long enough to say something."

Krad stared blankly before lifting his head in a quick twitchy motion and blinking twice before saying all too calmly: "Did you just call me slow?"

Dark took the conversation between the two problem causers as a moment to step out of their sight and let himself go unseen long enough to try and compose himself. This was yet another all too stressful event that he could feel peeling away his ability to keep himself from throwing his head back, laughing at the highest tone he could manage, and tearing his quills out one by one to chew on them.

He was very familiar with that feeling...

"Regardless of what kind of power you possess, I still have had more time to practice with mine, and therefore, my control over them outranks the level of your power." Dire countered to a comment Dark didn't catch on account of him telling himself that dequilling himself would be a bad idea as long as his quills were so thin and brittle. "Besides, I'm part of the dark half of the god of the balance of the planet." Dire grinned in his horrific way, stepping to be nose to nose with Krad (or would be, if not for the glass between them.). "It's very hard to top that."

"And I'm part of the dark half of the god of time!" Krad shot back, fur on his back bristling.

"Correction: part of the dark half of a clone of the god of time." Dire closed his eyes calmly, tilting his head back slightly and exhaling softly, as if he had heard this so many times before that he was tired of explaining it. "That's often overlooked, I see. Those scientist didn't capture Solaris, they made a genetic copy that was unstable and that's why the project failed. Exploded on itself, really, no matter what they did. Not like it would have had much of a chance, anyway... Clones tend to self terminate after a certain time."

This startling new bit of information stunned Dark the most. While it did sound plausible, as that theory would feel in a lot of blanks even he didn't know the answers to... The idea that Dark was really a byproduct of a botched attempt a cloning was enough to make Dark be ready to believe that the sky was yellow.

That changes everything. Dark was really an example of what could go wrong with genetic tampering. Everything about the Solaris Project was both wrong and a lie...

And... "Self terminate"! What on Mobius was that supposed to mean? That his body was going to destroy itself from the inside out when his "expiration date" was up? That he'd just die spontaneously with no apparent warning?

_That can't be right... I'm already eleven years old... If that was going to happen, it would have done that years ago..._ Dark tried to reason with himself, still nevertheless shaken. _Considering that I should have a genetic make up of a hedgehog by now... Sooner. And besides... How can I trust what he's saying..? He could have made that all up, how would he know what happened? He wasn't there..._

"But I suppose that makes you and all that came from that mess up all the more special, because you've already exceeded the estimated time of survival, and more interesting is that all the results seem to be living at this point right now." Dire smiled in no way friendly and tossed his hands up in a shrug, eyes still closed and head tilting to the left. "Perhaps the most successful sins against nature around. Do you realize the doors that could open to science? Why, just think! Dark here could be the first step in creating living powerhouses of pure energy! Who needs a Chaos Emerald when you've got something like Dark to pull energy from?" Dark himself slowly grew horrified from the thought, which Dire didn't see as his eyes were still closed. "And the best part? He's a renewable source of all that! Even if they run him dry, he'll be able to restore all that in a few hours at the very least. I do believe you just went from "parasite" to "battery", kid. How fun!"

Dark responded in a low voice, hardly audible, which caused Dire to perk his ears forward more and open his eyes halfway, just enough to look sidewise at Dark, who flinched.

"Sorry, didn't catch that. Speak up when you want to be heard." Dire raised an eyebrow.

"_... I... I'm not... I'm a... a..._" Dark found himself stammering once all the attention was on him, even Krad staring at him with an annoyed look.

"A what? Sorry, can't understand you through the speech impediment." Dire smirked, thoroughly enjoying this.

Dark swallowed and tried to even out his breathing, but he only felt anxiety from this whole moment.

"_... I... Uh..._" Dark was baffled as to why he was having such trouble forming together the simple statement he wanted to make. The words he had in his mind seemed to have detached and strewn the pieces every which way, into places he could not reach to catch them.

Everything was starting to tilt, causing him to shift his eyes constantly to try and correct his vision, knowing something wasn't right. He knew what sort of feeling this sensation often proceeded, and quite frankly, he didn't want it to happen this time. Not while faced with a force of darkness and a caged anti self, of all things.

His vision became blurry, the sound in his ears got garbled, and air around him was rendered nearly unbreathable to him.

_... Not now... Please not now..._ Dark had to brace an arm against the plexiglas of the tank to keep himself upright, trying all he could to keep his face as blank as possible.

Dire noticed anyway.

"Looks like that was a little too much for you to handle, huh, Dark?" Dire faked a concerned tone, stepping closer, Dark freezing at that motion. "Dunno why a cage would be such a problem for you, though... You spent a decade in something much smaller already, so I suppose a cage would be an upgrade." Dire found that nerve he was trying to hit. "It'll have all you need to stay alive, and best of all, no one would bug you anymore, because you'd be put somewhere away from people, because they wouldn't want someone poking at you through the bars like some sort of class hamster. At least, when they're not running tests on you, that is. You might want to work on getting yourself fixed up again... Or you'll be bald when they take what little fur they can get off your matted pelt."

_... Don't listen to him... He's just trying to break me further..._ Dark squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.

"Now, I wonder if they'll treat you like a hedgehog, because you look like one? Or however a shadow gets treated in a lab?" Dire scratched behind an ear. "Maybe they'll do a biopsy to figure out just how your body works and why it creates all that excess energy. You do know what a biopsy is, don't you?"

Dark didn't answer, so it was hard to say if he did.

"It's kinda like an autopsy, but they don't have to wait for you to be dead to do it. They'd probably want to start with that brain of yours..." Dire poked him right on the forehead, causing Dark's eyes to go wide and roll upward to look at the hand the best he could. "Just shave off the quills, a scalpel and tweezers to move the skin out of the way, a drill saw to carve a hole into your skull, and start mapping things out from there. You'll be unconscious, of course, but still. I I wonder if your brain looks any different than that hedgehog's? Is it bigger, smaller, pinker, smoother, or what? You ever wonder that? Maybe it's got crystals? I guess we won't know for now."

Dark whimpered pitifully as Dire grabbed a hand to inspect over it as well.

"And the coating on the hands... I wonder if it's just a layer, or actually part of your skin? Think they could peel it off and find normal fingers under there? Or just end up ruining the nerves and making all feeling dead at the digits?" Dire seemed to be enjoying himself, while Dark was bring down on his lower lip, holding his breath, only stopping that to exhale and inhale sharply to hold it again. "Wonder what it's like to now be able to feel anything you touch? But that might be a good thing, because that cage might be too uncomfortable, so maybe that'll help. And let's not forget about the eyes-"

At that moment, Dire fell to the ground as a black orb of shadows hit him in the head, leaving Dark standing there in mute terror, the only sounds from him were his heavy breathing, and occasional swallow.

"Alright, what in Chaos was THAT?" Dire shoved himself up from the ground and glared at Dark, getting nose to nose with him.

Dark only shook his head and hesitantly pointed to Krad, who looked as though he had snapped his fingers, but kept his hand in the air the same way regardless of being done with that.

"Let's be perfectly clear." Krad stated calmly, eyes having an odd burning quality about them. "One: If anyone is going to get to break him, it's going to be me, because I deserve it more than you. Two: I don't like Dark, but right now, I don't like you more. And three: That's for three days of screwing my eardrums with that wretched tapping!"

Dire, who had simply turned his head in the direction of Krad while still being close to Dark, only hummed a response before saying: "Tell me... Are you able to get your power through that glass often, or was that just an 'every so often' kinda thing? Like you got angry enough to do that for a one hit?"

"I know where this is going, and I won't tell."

"I'll take that as the latter."

"Oh, cripes."

"That's what I thought." The corner of Dire's mouth lifted enough to pass for a shadow of a smirk, his eyes glinting dangerously. "Luckily for me, I don't have that limit here."

"And what are you going to do now?" Krad only seemed slightly worried, only just.

"I know! I'll let Dark decide!" Dire responded gleefully, clasping his hands together in excitement at the idea.

Dark already didn't like where this was headed. He really didn't.

Dire grabbed Dark's shoulders and half led, half dragged him to stand in front of the wide side of the tank, and then turned him to face Krad.

"Okay, Dark! This one is your choice!" Dire chirped playfully. "Now, for what this guy did, should I: A: Punish him severely, and make him think twice about doing that next time, or B: Still do the same, but do that to you?" Dark looked apprehensive beyond believe at the choices. Dire explained again, tapping his fingers on the shadow's shoulders. "C'mon, man. Either I get to make him own up to his actions, or you can be the good guy, and put yourself in his place. What's it gonna be? Help him out, even if he won't ever pay a debt to you for that? Or let him take what he earned, and just turn away, making him hate you even more?"

Dark looked as though he was having a silent panic attack trying to decide the best option. Daring to look at Krad, the creature gave him a "You owe me." look, only furthering the difficulty.

"Pick one, or I'll do it for you."

Dark shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut again.

Dire shrugged.

"Oh, well. I'll do you a favor, and just spare you this time, then."

"Oh, you little son of a-!"

"_Wait!_" Dark shouted, causing Dire to pause in what he was going to do.

"Yes?"

"_If I get hurt here, th-the injuries will be gone w-when I wake up..._" Dark explained shakily, jaw quivering as his eyes started to tear up. "_I'll be f-fine and fixed before next time I'm here..._"

"Go on."

"_Krad would... If you hurt him, he'll have to recover the long way._" With each word he added, he was regretting this more and more. "_... L-logically, I should be the one, because I can c-come back without injury..._"

"Oh, wonderful! You've decided to give yourself up in place of someone who hates you no matter what! How noble of you!" Dire grinned widely. "Very well then! Hands on your head, down on the ground, eyes closed."

"_Wh-what..?_"

"Do it, or I'll revoke the change."

Dark did as he was told, shaking the whole while, dreading what was planned ahead.

"Okay. What to do, what to do..?"

Dark fought with himself to keep from opening his eyes just enough to see out of fearful curiosity.

"Hmm..."

Maybe when this was over, there'd be a bowl of fruit waiting for him, something to help him calm down...

"Oh! I know!"

Dark tensed, holding his breath and preparing the best he could for any impact...

What he got was something he didn't expect, however.

A flick on the nose.

His eyes snapped open fast enough that you could almost hear it, and the shrunken pupils stared at Dire in absolute disbelief.

"_... What... But... I t-thought..._" Dark stopped right there, not wanting to spark new ideas, twitching his nose that stung only slightly.

"Oh, c'mon. That was fair. It was only a smack in the face." Dire tossed a hand in the air. "To be honest, you got off easy. Just be glad he didn't break something, or we wouldn't even be having this conversation."

Dark actually fainted from relief.


	46. Getting Closer

It took a lot to get Mephiles to take a step out onto the wooden platforms that supported this small tropical village, because all he knew was that there was practically nothing but water for _miles_ surrounding them, and the only solace he had to that fact was that this was built on a sandbar, and that there was an island adjoining to the village by a wooden pier.

Somewhere deep in his mind, a part of him was awestruck by the vibrant and enthralling scenery that contrasted the urban life he was so used to. He thought Soleanna had been crazy enough as it was to build it's main towns in channels of water with lakes, rivers, waterfalls, streams, beaches, and bays everywhere you turned... But Adabat..? Well, it managed to look much prettier, perhaps because the young crystal hedgehog didn't have that hanging feeling above his head that someone was silently wishing he'd trip into the water and drown that he felt in his birthplace.

_... At least they have guardrails..._ Mephiles smiled weakly, trying to find something that would outweigh the terror he'd be feeling from the sight of all that water. _... Soleanna must have been too dang cheap to get them for anything other than the bridges... Crazy people... Oy..._

Part of the reason he finally got out of the Tornado after an hour of curling into a fetal position on the floor was that the waves in the water were rocking the plane, as it had been converted to aquatic landing mode, and the motion of it moving up and down subtly was enough to start a motion sickness spell on the hedgehog, causing him to realize that he'd rather have to simply counter a panic attack than try and fight back a movement triggered nausea episode that was not going to get better unless he moved himself away from the source area, because throwing up during a bout of motion sickness only worsened the sick feeling, because it had nothing to do with what he ate, or illnesses.

Basically, unless he could throw up the disorientation caused by his eyes seeing the inside of the plane staying still, while the fluid in his inner ears felt the movement, which made his brain baffled that those two did not match up... He was better off just venturing out on the wooden platforms, because they actually stayed in place. That, and it was easier to counter a panic attack than it was to counter a severe case of sensory miscommunication, which was really just his body assuming he contracted something horrible, on account of his equilibrium not matching to his sight, and said body concluding that making him sick was the best way to clear out the possible reason why he must be "hallucinating".

He'd rather just be scared, than sick and scared.

_... And I have this life vest thingy... so as long as it works, I should be safe... I hope it works..._ At the last thought, his expression changed to that of the type he'd get when a creeping realization dawned on him that there was still room for error.

Just then, his brain decided to supplement him with an observational fact that he could have done well enough without.

'_You know if a tsunami hit us right now, we'd all drown?_'

_Oh, geeze... Didn't I have that exact same thought on that beach I got the concussion on?_ He cringed, putting his hands over his eyes and lowering his head, trying to ignore the mental image he had of that. _... Why is my brain always trying to make me feel bad..?_

He didn't really expect a response back, but thankfully, none came, because if it did... He'd be pretty dang worried.

_Remember... I'm doing this all for Dark... If he was safe back at home, I would have been, too. Whatever I'm going through right now can't be any worse than what he must be going through... It's been well over a month since we got separated, maybe more, and he's probably afraid that something horrible happened to me once he got taken..._ Mephiles reasoned with himself, trying to find something that would help him think more clearly. _... He's probably convinced that no one else is coming to save him, and he's probably scared half to death at the thought... That's why I can't let myself worry over something like a bunch of water when Dark really needs me right now... I can't let my phobia stop me from being able to do this... What if I have to come across it again before this is over..?_

Sniffling, and opening one eye with tears clinging to his short eyelashes, which he wiped off quickly, a thought occurred to him that made the water seem less frightening in a way.

_... I'm afraid of water... I'm afraid of drowning... I'm afraid of sinking in it... I'm afraid of being so far down in it that I can't be saved... I'm afraid of being completely aware as my body shuts down when the water in my lungs cuts off the oxygen to my brain... And I'm afraid of falling under with no one even seeing or knowing before it's too late..._ He realized, both eyes rounding only slightly. _... But I'm afraid of losing Dark more than any of that combined... and right now... That's the worst scenario of all of this. I said I'd be tough enough to protect him someday... Maybe it'll happen soon... I'll be able to forget all about what scares me... Even if it's only just for one day..._ He smiled slightly, finding that last thought somewhat comforting. _... Being tough for one day when it's important is all I really need to bring him back home... Maybe two... And when he's back... I can go back to being that nervous, cowardly hedgehog he loves so much... The one who hides when the doorbell rings, and cries when the flowers start wilting... Yeah..._

And suddenly, the water was not scary to him for the time being. He realized he had more important things to be worried about. And he'd cross that bridge when he got there.

* * *

_Why aren't you fighting back..? You're just letting him win..._

_Don't just stand there... You're going to get hurt... You're going to lose... Do something... Please... Don't hold back because of me..._

_He's crying... Stop it... Leave him out of this... I'll do what you want... I'll play your twisted games... Just stop hurting him..._

_Why don't you fight back..? I know you're scared, but even then you still defend yourself... Why is this any different..? I'll understand if I have to feel it too... But please... Try..._

_... Oh no... Oh no... No... No... He got you bad there... Can you still see..? Oh no... No... It's bleeding... It's bleeding badly... You look wobbly... please try to stay awake... I know you can't handle the smell of blood... But please try and fight back... You're getting hit around badly... It's hurting me just seeing you not even try to block..._

_... Are you not fighting back because you don't want to hurt me..? I don't care if I get hurt... Just as long as you'll be alright... Please do something... Please... I can't stop him by myself..._

_... I'm trying to... But he's too much... I think he's worn me down enough that I'm unable to fight back by myself... Please... It's not me doing this... You know I wouldn't do this to you... Right..? Right..? RIGHT..?_"

_Oh Chaos... No... No... No no no no no no no... Get back up... Please get back up... At least open your eyes again... Let me know you're alright... I..._

_... Mephy..? Mephy... Don't leave me again... I need you... Please wake up..._

...

...

...

* * *

He wasn't sure if it was exactly a nightmare or a warning... but all the same, it worried him.

Dark could feel the difficulty he had in trying to wake up and figure out where he was now... He felt exhausted and weak at the moment, and he wondered if that had anything to do with the somewhat traumatic experience he had just had with Dire. Perhaps that had drained him from all that terror he had been feeling before he only got a flick on the nose..?

It was quiet, save for the distant hum of machinery elsewhere in the base, and the whirring sound of a fan, which Dark found the noise to be strangely lulling with it's strange buzz like sound.

Besides that, it was quiet. Of course, that was to be expected, considering that besides his twin, he was the only one living in the room at the time.

Senses returning ever so slowly, he became aware of a light squeezing sensation on his fingers on his hand, causing him to open his eyes just as much as he could manage, and found that Iblis seemed to have fallen asleep waiting on him, head resting on one arm that was half folded under it, resting on the edge of the bed, and the other hand grasping Dark's fingers carefully, either to make sure that if Dark moved, he'd know, or just because it was all he could think of to do at the time.

Throat feeling a bit dry, he coughed weakly as a reaction, which caused Iblis to stir after the third cough, lifting his head up sleepily in confusion before he blinked and grew more alert once he realized Dark had woken up.

"_How are you feeling..?_" Was the first thing Iblis managed to say in a low tone, as if uncertain that was a good first question to ask.

"_... Th... Thirsty..._" Dark whispered, wanting the first thing to be taken care to be his dry throat that he could swear felt like it was sticking together on the inside.

Iblis nodded slowly and grabbed the water bottle off the nightstand, unscrewing the cap off and helping Dark sit up enough to be able to drink it without choking.

"_Take little sips..._" The older one advised carefully, reaching his hand up to tilt the bottle to limit how much Dark could gulp down at once. "_If you drink it down too fast, you'll make yourself sick again..._"

Dark gave him a look that clearly told him not to patronize him, even if it was faintly worked into his features with lowered eyebrows.

"_Don't give me that look. I'm sure you don't want to throw that all back up, especially in front of me... Drink slower._" Iblis pried the now half empty bottle out of his hands and away for a moment, Dark reaching for it, only to get his hand pushed back. "_Wait a bit before trying again... Too much at once is going to make you sick..._"

"_... I'm fine..._" Dark protested in a low tone, determined to not be treated as if he were completely helpless.

"_And I know you well enough now to take that with a grain of salt._" Iblis exhaled a sigh, shaking his head and the bottle lightly. "_But seriously, drinking this too fast will upset your stomach. There's no need to hurry, it's not going to be taken away before you're done..._"

"_... Just give it back..._" Dark growled discontentedly, reaching for it again, but once more his hand was pushed back.

"_Only if you promise not to make yourself sick trying to down the rest._"

"_... Not going to get sick..._" The shadow huffed, frowning a little more. "_... Give it back..._"

Iblis sighed again and handed the bottle back, keeping a hold on it just enough to still limit how much Dark was drinking at once, knowing Dark would ignore the warning anyway and possibly cause himself to be violently sick from not letting his stomach settle in between gulps.

Dark still glared at him for not letting him have full control over the bottle, and reluctantly paced himself as that was all he could really do.

After about five minutes of near total silence between them, the bottle was now a quarter of the way full, and Dark shoved it away as if he were sick of it, and didn't want any more, despite the rather big fuss he had made over it.

Iblis capped it again and placed it back on the nightstand before turning back to Dark, who now looked absolutely miserable (or rather, more so than he had been lately), unblinking gaze directed towards the foot of the bed, fingers curled into fists that gripped the blanket and braced him as he leaned forward.

Though used to Dark's erratic behavior by now, Iblis was all the same startled to see Dark staring straight ahead without so much as a twitch.

"_Dark, are you alright?_" Iblis asked, concerned when he received not even a short squeak as a reply. He reached for his frail twin's shoulders and carefully shook him, trying to snap him out of whatever trance he had fallen into. "_Dark, c'mon. Say something. Talk to me. What's wrong? Dark? Dark!_"

He realized that Dark was now paler than he was normally, tremors settling in his body, eyelids drooped half shut, mouth hung open in a daze, eyes glassy, pupils dilated and fur damp with sweat as his breathing became uneven.

_He's either having a panic attack... Or he's losing control on his powers..._ Iblis drew up two possible reasons for this quickly, trying to decide the best way to pull him back to reality. _... He needs to be calmed down either way, but last time, he bit me badly..._

Iblis was at first hesitant about trying to hold onto Dark yet again... But reminded himself that making Dark have to ride out the fit was not going to be for him in the emotional long run.

_If he bites me again... Oh well, I guess..._ He concluded. _... I'm sure Mephiles wouldn't care either way, so long as he got Dark to calm down..._

Taking his hands off the twin's shoulders, he climbed onto the bed to sit next to Dark to make it easier to hold him securely, then reached over to pull him towards him in an embrace, to which Dark reacted by slumping backwards against Iblis wearily, but other than that, there was no change in his terrified actions.

Above them, one of the florescent lights exploded in it's cover just as a small cloud of dark energy covered it seconds before it blew up. Dark's powers, whether the root of this current issue or not, were still flaring up.

"_Dark, it's time to wake up now..._" Iblis said in his ear, wondering just how much of it was reaching his brain at the moment. "_... Whatever you're scared of... It can't follow you here... Please, wake up..._" He said a little more urgently, feeling a spike of panic when Dark didn't give any indication that he had even heard him. "_Wake up, Dark... Please... How am I supposed to help you if you're not even here with me..? You need to snap out of it, and wake up... I can't do that for you, you have to do that on your own..._"

Shifting his grip on his younger twin brother, trying to make him more comfortable at the very least, Iblis took care in not letting his hand brush against Dark's left side, and tilted Dark's head in one direction that would make it easier to rest his own on top in thought without worrying about Dark's quills scraping against him, or rather, in the condition they were now, they'd be more likely to bend or break off... None of that he wanted to worry about.

Absentmindedly rubbing the fingers of one hand behind the twin's ear, thinking to himself to decide an effective way to help Dark wake from his trance, Iblis didn't notice that Dark was slowly coming to, somewhat lulled by this new unintentional method.

It wasn't until Dark nuzzled his head against him and muttered sleepily, startling Iblis: "_... Can see why Mephy likes this..._" that the flame realized that Dark was calming down.

"_Oh, thank Chaos, you're awake..._" Iblis breathed a sigh of relief.

"_... When did I fall asleep..?_"

Iblis was about to explain what had actually happened, but before he could start, he reconsidered, just because he didn't want to make Dark worried or embarrassed about actions he had no real control over.

"_... Not too long ago._" He said instead, forcing himself to smile smally. "_It's only been ten minutes..._"

"_... What happened to that light over there..?_"

"_What light?_"

"_That light... It looks... Exploded..._"

"_Power shortage..?_" Iblis thought quickly. "_... Overloaded it and it just blew up..._"

Dark seemed to have bought it.

"_... Perhaps it's an old bulb... Those do that sometimes..._" Dark stared at it with half closed eyes. "_... Personally, I don't much for them... The constant flickering agitates my eyes... And it gives a yellowish tint to some things... Highly distracting..._"

"_I hadn't even noticed that..._" Iblis answered truthfully as Dark tilted his head back enough to look up at him.

"_... Maybe it's a shadow thing..._" Dark carefully rubbed the back of his hand at his eyes, keeping the sharp edges away. "_... I suppose given the option, I'd pick sunlight over that, because the sun doesn't blink three times a second... And I can at least hide from the sun when I've had enough..._"

"_You want me to turn these off, then..?_"

"_No!_" Dark was quick to shout this before swiftly readopting his previous state of speech, folding his ears back this time and a reddish tinge reaching his pale muzzle, looking down. "_... If you do that here... I won't be able to see anything, because this room has no other light source..._"

"_But don't my eyes glow enough that yours can reflect the light so you can..?_"

"_That's very thoughtful of you to remember that I can do that... But then you'll only be able to see my eyes glowing..._" Dark forced a short, nervous laugh. "_And since that robot is determined to prove you're here, your eyes would just give you away..._"

"_Point taken..._" Iblis sighed, having overlooked that.

"_... Besides... I'm probably not going to be stuck here much longer..._" Dark sounded annoyed at that fact.

"_How so..?_"

Tugging at the brace on his right wrist until it slipped off, Dark held up his hand and wiggled his fingers boredly.

"_... Wrist isn't sprained anymore._" He stated. "_... Throat's not sore... Give another week or so and every reason I'm in this room will be take care of, and it's back to that cell, I'm sure..._"

Dark huffed through his nose at the end of that statement as he tossed the wrist brace to the floor.

"_You can't be sure of that._" Iblis pointed out. "_In fact, this room just seems better to keep you in... You actually have something to do here if you're bored, which I'm sure that Human has figured out what happens when you have nothing to do..._"

"_... I'll get bored of here, too..._"

"_We'll think of something..._"

"_... How far from here do you think Mephy is now..?_" Dark added in thought. "_Do you think he's told everyone he meets about me, or maybe he's tried to keep as much a he can a secret because he doesn't think anyone will understand the whole situation..?_"

"_You know him better than I do..._"

"_... Most likely, he's tried to make them understand as much as possible... But really, it's a difficult subject to grasp if you're not so open minded..._" Dark rubbed two fingers under his ears, on the side of his head. "_... I try not to think too much into it myself... I should be just happy that he chose to adopt me as his brother... But I just can't see how he can just ignore what I did to him... Maybe I've hit him in the head one too many times... Or maybe it was that avalanche he almost froze in..._" Dark exhaled in slight exasperation. "_... I mean, anybody else would have gotten some sort of damage from that sort of cold and force trauma... He got pulled down the whole side of a mountain, and buried at least eight feet in it, if my estimate on how long it took him to dig out is any good guess..._"

"_When did that happen..?_"

"_... Quite some time before we split apart... I was still in his head... He probably would have froze to death if I didn't keep pushing him..._" Dark explained briefly, opening one eye again. "_... Of course, there was that time Shadow hit him hard enough to give him a concussion... Maybe _that's_ how he can do that... Because he got hit hard enough in the head to jumble his brain... I've only ended up knocking him out, so maybe it wasn't me after all..._" Perking his ears slightly, he added: "_... Then again, I'm the one with the diagnosed brain injury and the cracked skull that _should_ have put me in a coma..._" Thinking for a moment before waving a hand around, he said: "_Okay, okay... How about this then?: None of this ever happened beyond me falling down the stairs, and in reality, this is all just a dream I'm having in the coma I should be in. No... Wait..._" He frowned as Iblis gave him a somewhat apprehensive look. "_... if that was true, then I would have never gotten a cat... Mephy's girl Chao would still have that shell hat... And I wouldn't even know if I really like melon, or that I just made that up as a coping thing... But it tastes too good to be all fake! And how would I know of I really liked it, if I didn't try it until AFTER my skull was cracked! Why would you let me think like that!_" He snapped at Iblis suddenly, who flinched.

"_Okay... Wait... What..?_"

"_S-sorry... Thinking too much into it..._" Dark said nervously, catching himself.

"_... You should really work on that..._" Iblis raised an eyebrow.

"_... I try..._" Dark muttered sheepishly. Then he added: "_... By the way... I know I didn't fall asleep again..._"

Caught off guard, the flame said in a mild state of surprise: "_How'd you figure that out..?_"

"_... Not quite sure... Maybe something having to do with the fact that you're holding me up, even though we were fighting over that water bottle not too long ago, and I can't figure the correct passage of time for that..._" Dark sighed. "_That, and I'm quite sure I can tell the difference between a power surge making a light explode, and when the thing is blown up by my powers..._"

"_... Clever..._"

"_... I had another unpleasant dream before I woke you up..._" Dark explained in a low tone, looking down again. "_... I didn't see anything, again... But I heard what I was thinking while it happened..._"

"_... You don't think it was just another dream, do you...?_"

"_... Mephy can have scarily accurate predictions in his dreams, even if he doesn't remember more than half of them by the time he wakes up completely... Sometimes they happen just as he sees them, and other times, it's just abstract and only the concept is given..._" Dark said, half closing his eyes and folding his ears down. "_... Like the one he had where he said that I had drowned, and that I hadn't been afraid when that happened... I didn't drown, but I almost died from that wound, and really... I know I should have been, but I was so relieved that he was out of harm's way, that I wasn't even worried about myself at the moment..._"

"_... So you're saying..?_"

"_... I think something is going to happen to him..._" Dark sounded as though he had to struggle to get his voice louder than a whisper for that. "_... I don't know what, but whatever it is, he won't even bother to fight back... So it must be something that he wouldn't want to hurt..._" Dark closed his eyes again. "_... Unfortunately... The only thing I can think of for that is... well... me..._"

"_... Are you sure..?_"

"_... As far as I can tell by what I remember from it... But, of course, I only heard my thoughts in the whole thing... I don't think I want to know what his were during it, though... Mine alone made me feel horrible enough as it was..._"


	47. Not a Title To Think Of

If daytime was pretty, nighttime could easily beat that.

The clear water's surface mirrored the stars and moon across it, and the small village had lanterns, both hanging from the huts and in the water, to light up the walkways with a warm glow.

Mephiles was holding on to a carved wooden charm that Sonic had purchased for him (as well as one for everyone else) from an assortment the vendor was selling that they both agreed looked an awful lot like Chip... The younger hedgehog intended on bringing the carving to Dark so that the shadow would be able to see the odd flying critter he was sure to tell Dark about. This was also meant to be a gift for Dark, so that he could show him that he had his thoughts on his safety the whole time.

Sure, it wasn't the long sought after square cantaloupe that the hedgehog had checked for at every vendor in every country he visited... But all the same, this figure had an interesting story behind it, as the vendor had said that it was carved in the perceived likeness of the being that had put the world back together, the last time it was shattered by Dark Gaia eons ago...

Of course, knowing Dark, he'd debunk the whole legend and point out that it was simply a whittled piece of driftwood, dyed with pomegranate juice, but it's the thought that counts.

Sonic had left to go save a couple of ghosts that seemed to have gotten stuck on the little islands just half a mile off, even though he had insisted to the man, who pestered him about the two specters being in some sort of danger, that the two ghosts were perhaps just fine and had nothing to worry about, and really, they could easily fly away... But apparently the ghosts were cornered by the Dark Gaia monsters, so Sonic had no choice but to come to the rescue.

Mephiles, Tails and Chip were all sitting on the edge of the pier, watching the neon flashes in the distance as Sonic defeated each and every monster that popped up in his way. Chip was sitting between Mephiles and Tails, holding up his own carved figure in both small hands, turning it every which way and intrigued at it's incredible likeness to him.

"Maybe whoever made this knows my family or something, and can tell me who I am?" The pixie dog said.

"It's supposed to be a charm, so maybe flying dogs like you live around here..?" Mephiles suggested, looking at Chip. "I mean, you can fly, so maybe the people here think your species is magic or something, and that's why these figures look like you..?"

"It's really pretty here, so I hope this is where I really live!" Chip beamed. "They make some really great things with fruit here, too!"

"There's quite a few islands, so there could be a group that lives on one of them..." Tails said, nodding slowly. "... But we don't know that for sure, so you shouldn't get too excited, or you might be really disappointed if it turns out we were wrong..."

"But this is the first place that we've been to where there could be a real good hint!" Chip protested, holding the figure over his head and waving it. "Even the guy selling these said he could have sworn he's seen me before! That's better than nothing!"

"Tails is right, though..." Mephiles agreed sheepishly, looking at the water. "If it turns out we're wrong... Then you got your hopes up for nothing..."

He didn't really hear Chip respond because he couldn't help but think to himself how many days in a row Dark must have been hoping each day was the one that the hedgehog was going to be able to rescue him.

_... It's been almost two months now since this whole thing started... And a month and a half, maybe more, since we got separated... That's easily fifty days at the very least... And Dark is probably all by himself, while I'm here making new friends..._ He thought miserably.

* * *

Understandably, Dark was not eager to fall back asleep again, considering what he went through and what he had dreamed.

He had told Iblis about what Dire had done to torment him the most recent encounter, and Iblis had to turn away briefly so that Dark wasn't startled by the angered look that had passed through his features.

"_Please tell me I never did anything like that to you._" He clenched his teeth, staring a the wall.

"_... Well, no... You never really made me have to choose who got hurt..._" Dark answered in a meek tone, staring at his feet as he sat on the bed. "_... Granted, you did try to use Mephy as leverage to get me to do what you wanted... More than once... But you didn't make me choose between him or me getting hurt..._"

_... I honestly don't know if that was supposed to sound like a No, or what..._ Iblis dropped his ears a few degrees down.

"_... I don't want to go to sleep right now..._" Dark whimpered pitifully, causing Iblis to turn around again to face him.

"_... I know, but remember... You can't stay up forever..._" The flame reasoned.

"_... I've slept so much lately... I should be awake for weeks..._" Dark grumbled, sighing discontentedly. "_... Doesn't work that way, though..._"

"_... Sadly so..._" Iblis agreed with him cautiously, trying not to further upset him. "_... If you want... We could either continue that book... Or see if anything worth watching is on that thing..._"

"_... It's a TV..._"

"_... Do you want to give it a try, then?_"

Dark stared at him before exhaling and reaching for the remote unenthusiastically, hitting the power button.

The first thing that it was on was a new program, updating everyone watching on the current status of the planet and it's pieces having fallen into place.

Dark switched for the next station without much pause.

People selling jewelry. The lighting of the display was set in such a way that every facet of each gem sparkled and glinted to draw the eye to it.

Dark grunted this time and went to the next station.

A yellow anthropomorphized sponge with a tie laughing obnoxiously.

Dark didn't stay much longer than two seconds on that one.

After about five minutes of channel hopping, he same to a stop on what appeared to be a blue, bear-like creature with ears like a rabbit's (only wider), as many limbs as an insect, two antennae on top on it's head, and spikes down it's back. It was in a glass tube and wearing something orange, and as the other characters were speaking, it seemed to be enjoying itself the action of smearing it's tongue along the inside of the tube, and wiping it's face into the drool, smirking and cackling as it did.

He set the remote down.

"_... I guess we're watching this then..?_" Iblis said, wondering if the reason Dark was interested was because this fluffy and spiky blue creature was an experiment (as they had caught the term "Experiment" being used to refer to it...).

"_Tired of pushing buttons... It looks like this just started to, so might as well..._"

* * *

**CLICK!**

**CLICK!**

**CLICK!**

**CLUNK!**

Dire had his ear pressed to the back of one of the combination locks, twisting the dial and smirking at the sounds once the locking bar popped open.

Krad watched with anticipation, only to growl when Dire snapped it closed again.

"I do believe I have this one's combination figured out..." Dire announced happily, spinning the dial again and letting the mechanism do it's job, before locking it back on once more. "Of course, I can just use my shadow powers on the inside parts and do it the easy way... But I just think the clicking sound is much more satisfying the old fashioned way!"

Krad snorted through his nose.

"Why haven't you tried to use your powers to free yourself?" Dire said without looking a him. "You can get them through to hit me... Why not free yourself and get out of here..?"

Krad narrowed his eyes before lifting a hand to summon energy, and directed it at a nearby lock, but the energy dispersed on contact with another, yet similar, form of energy cancelled it out.

"Oh, well he's seems to have thought of nearly everything!" Dire caught his tongue between his teeth and scratched his head in thought. "It seems that as long as you try to free yourself... There's always a counter measure... let's see..."

Dire approached the glass wall of the tank and slid a claw across it, earning a grating screeching sound as it trailed along in the shape of a circle, before Dire pushed forward on it with a hand and the section popped back, shattering on the floor of the tank, in front of Krad.

Krad stared at the hole in the glass for a short while before quickly morphing into his base form and darting for it... Only for the glass to magically reform a split second before Krad could reach it, causing him to hit into it, presumably headfirst. The tank wobbled from the force of it, while Krad slid to the floor, changing shape back to normal again, and holding the top of his head in pain while glaring even more.

"Wow! What a neat sound that was! Like a cross between a crash and a bonk!" Dire snickered, exhaling shortly through his nose.

Krad snarled angrily at him, not amused.

"Why so bent out of shape? Because you only hit your head... so nothing should be bent anyway..." Dire must have thought that was hilarious, but the execution was terrible.

* * *

Heel of the hand rubbing against his eye, it was obvious that Dark was getting tired again, having not really had much proper rest lately being a key factor in his tendency to wear down faster recently, as well as having not much to do beyond what was available in the room... Which wasn't much to be frank.

Two movies, of course, equated to four hours at the most, so Dark had already wasted at least that much time.

But Dark was still wary about falling asleep, knowing it was very unlikely he'd even be able to rest at all... Not so long as Dire was keen on playing mind games with him. And not to mention... Those audible nightmares he's started to have...

He felt something touch his shoulder, and he jolted with a startled cry, having been so lost in thought that he had momentarily forgotten that he wasn't the only one in the room.

"_I didn't mean to scare you!_" Iblis apologized quickly, drawing his hand back in shock. "_You just worried me when you zoned out like that!_"

Dark panted slightly as he tried to catch his breath, shuddering nervously as he did.

"_... S-sorry..._" He stuttered, color slowly returning to his paler than normal face.

Iblis frowned slightly in concern.

"_You really should think about just calling it a night for no-_"

"_No!_" Dark cut him off before he could finish the statement, making Iblis flinch at the fearful look the shadow had given him. "_I-I... It's s-safer here! I-I won't-! I c-can-! He can't d-do much t-to me out here! I c-can be left alone!_"

"_... You're already an insomniac, Dark-_" Iblis started to explain to him carefully about how bad an idea it was, but Dark swiftly cut across him again.

"_Th-then it should be no p-problem st-staying awake for me!_" Dark shouted in a slightly raised pitch, as if struggling to keep himself on a clear thinking level. "_I c-can st-stay awake for d-days if I have t-to!_"

"_... That's not insomnia... That's sleep deprivation..._" Iblis clenched his teeth only slightly, trying to stay as calm as he wanted to appear to Dark, trying to not upset him further. "_That's even worse than insomnia... Not only would your abilities to properly function diminish greatly after a straight day of no sleep, at all... But everything wrong with your health would get even worse... You'd be sore all over, your migraines would be worse and more frequent, you'd be unable to stop shaking, you'd find cold intolerable because of how much discomfort you'd be in, and you'd start hallucinating and-_" Iblis stopped and inhaled sharply before holding a hand up to signal a moment's pause as he tried to even his tone. "_... No, Dark. I won't let you do that to yourself... It might work for one night, but each day after will just be worse and worse... What happens after a week has passed, and you're a screaming mess, while that creature keeps chipping away at you without any sign of fatigue..? Then what..? What would you have accomplished at that point..?_"

"I DON'T CARE!" Dark wailed miserably, losing the growl in his voice. "I DON'T CARE WHAT I HAVE TO DO JUST AS LONG AS HE STAYS AWAY FROM ME! IF I HAVE TO BASH MY OWN HEAD INTO A WALL UNTILL I'M UNCONSCIOUS ENOUGH THAT HE CAN'T EVEN REACH ME, I WILL!"

"_You'll make that crack in your skull split further, doing that... I won't let you._" Iblis stated in a slightly angered tone, not happy with Dark's current manner of thinking. "_... That fracture almost put you in a coma. I admit that it was my fault that happened, but do you realize that at that time... Your brain ceased nearly all functions save for the ones needed to stay alive..? You did not think a single thought for _hours._ The only thing that was keeping you from being pronounced dead was that your heart was still beating, and you were still breathing. Now, I ask you..._" The flame said in an even voice. "_... What on Mobius would that hedgehog think if he came all that way to rescue you, only to find that you've made yourself so brain dead from smashing your head against a wall that you might never be awake to see him again? Or if you've let yourself deteriorate enough that you no longer recognize him because your brain is so fried from lack of rest that you can't even distinguish a hare from a wallaby! I won't let you do that to yourself. No._"

Dark, who had been sniffling during this, burst into tears, screaming hoarsely: "_Anything is better than facing that little monster!_ I DON'T CARE! I DON'T CARE!"

Sensing that Dark was going to make true of his words on beating his head against the wall to prove it, Iblis was quick to catch his arms around Dark and pull him away from the edge of the bed they sat on before Dark could get off. Dark continued shrieking "I DON'T CARE!" as the shadow hit one fist after another against the flame to try and free himself, but Iblis knew better by now than to let go when Dark was in this state.

Then, at possibly the worst time ever... The door's catch clicked.

Iblis inhaled sharply, holding his breath and feeling his temperature drop as he could only watch in horror as the door was pushed open cautiously, unable to hide because he couldn't leave Dark alone and in such a hysterical state.

_Oh, Chaos... Oh no... Oh, God... Oh, no, no, no, no, not now..._ ran through his mind in rapid succession as did only what he could think of... He froze, a rather uncharacteristic metaphor for his element.

Metal Sonic stood in the doorway, pen in one hand, notepad in the other, lighted eyes brightening slightly as if to suggest that he could be smirking at them if he were capable.

Raising the pen and paper to hold out in front of himself to write, the scribbling of the pen was heard and he flipped over the notepad to show what he had to say.

_Found you._

"_... You don't understand how complicated this is..._" Iblis tried desperately over Dark's unintelligible vocalizations as Metal approached him casually. "_... F-first off... I'm supposed to be d-dead... I mean, I _was_ dead for a while... I th-think I was, at least... But I'm well aware that I shouldn't even be here... But th-that's not the most important thing... It's him... Dark... And if you t-tell them that I'm here... You don't know what kind of Chaos you'll unleash..._"

Pen scribbles on paper once Metal was close enough for the writing to be read from a good distance.

_He tore out my vocal processor. I can't speak because of him. He cracked the other screen for my eyes, dented my frame, and even ripped through material that's otherwise indestructible._

"_Now, wait a minute..._" Iblis countered cautiously, clenching his teeth slightly. "_Did you not slash your claws into the side of Mephiles' head and slam his head into a brick wall? And left him, unconscious, in the snow? Bleeding and alone?_"

_That other one that looks like you? He got in the way. It was superficial anyway... By the looks of it, he's on the other side of the world, last I saw, with that double of mine, no less. He's not dead._

"_But he's one of the most important things to Dark!_" Iblis snapped, infuriated by the tactless way that was stated. "_You don't understand what you've done! Dark is bonded to him! Separating them causes bad things to happen!_"

No response this time... Just Metal calmly leaving the room for the stairs. Iblis went visibly pale and had no choice but to let Dark go, who simply fell in a huddled ball on the bed, his cries muffled, but still raised in volume, by that action. Iblis slid off the bed and reverted to his base form to catch up to Metal and stop in front of him, blocking the stairs when he reformed, arms out to the side, and trying to look fierce, despite the legitimate fear he was now experiencing that this could very well end out in such a terrible way that he would never be able to see Dark again.

"_Look. I may not have been there for him when I should have been..._" Iblis said in an even tone, trying to think of how to look intimidating to a robot that could very well be programmed to not even feel fear. "_... I may have hurt him in the past... But what's important now is that I'm here, looking after him and trying to keep him from tearing himself to pieces... I'm that brother he lost over ten years ago, and I'm not letting him lose me again..._" Iblis' voice dropped a pitch as his fur down his back and along his shoulders bristled. "_If you go near these stairs with the intention of alerting anyone of who I am, or that I'm here... I will personally drop you where you stand. I will melt each and every one of the chips in you that make your personality... I will melt them to liquid, so they can never be restored. I will find the melting point of every component in you, and save the hardware that runs your consciousness for last so you can watch me do that. I will make sure that before I get taken away from him that you will never, _ever_ be functional again. You'll just be a scrap pile of painted blue junk before I'm satisfied..._" Iblis had to suppress a shudder because he realized how terrifying that would have sounded to Dark had Dark heard that...

Speaking of...

Iblis realized something somewhat startling when he paused to take a breath after issuing his threat.

He couldn't hear Dark muffled and distressed wails, which he had been able to prior to blocking the stairs.

Having a near meltdown from having to choose between ensuring that the robot did not alert anyone of the flame's presence, or making sure the distraught shadow had not bashed his head against the floor, Iblis was on the verge of doing what he warned he would, just so he could make sure Dark was alright... But then he felt a significant drop in temperature in the general area. Last time that happened...

_... Oh no..._ Iblis' eyes widened when he realized what was going on. _... Not now... Please let me be wrong this time..._

Darkness was beginning to seep out of the room, spreading along the walls and towards the ceiling as it poured onto the floor through the open door.

"_... Oh, no... Not again..._" Iblis muttered, staring upward in worry as the inky substance dripped and landed on his forehead, this time sliding off like slippery goop instead of adhering to him as it had done so previously. The flame suppressed a groan of disgust as he cautiously reached for his head to instinctively wipe away what might have been left behind, but was half baffled to find that there wasn't a trace sticking to even his fur. "_The heck..? That's new..._"

Bringing his gaze back down, Iblis realized to his horror that Metal was no longer in front of him.

_He couldn't have gotten passed me when I wasn't looking! Where did he go!_ The flame looked behind himself and confirmed that the shadows blocked the stairs anyway. Then looking back to the doorway, he saw the pen and paper half buried in inky blackness...

More concerned for his younger brother, though, Iblis hurried back into the room and was not expecting the scene he happened across: Dark had cornered Metal, the shadows restraining the limbs as Dark reached one hand up to grab one of Metal's arms, a smirk worked into his features as his eyes glinted from the glow that Iblis' gave from where he stood.

"_So... You told me that you knew of many ways to snap my wrist in two..._" Dark told Metal in an eerily calm voice, not at all seeming like himself. "_... I can name three ways already to tear that arm of yours off... Either all the way, part way, or not at all... Dunno why you're fighting... You're a robot, so I doubt you can even feel pain... And if you can... Who's going to hear you scream when you're already mute, hmm..?_"

"_Dark! Stop it! Let him go!_" Iblis wasn't so much as worried about Metal's safety, so much as he was worried by Dark's actions, as it startled him to see his younger brother behave so darkly... He had never really seen that side of Dark before (one in which he was casually preparing to hurt someone...), honestly, and he knew right away that it was his fault. His fault that Dark even had such a side...

An ear twitched, and Dark tilted his head in Iblis' general direction, rolling his gaze to him, appearing as though he just realized he was there, pupils round and filling nearly all the space the irises normally did, giving the impression that his eyes were black instead of green. The small smirk did not fade even the slightest, which was unnerving enough as it was.

"_Oh, hello there, Brother! Don't mind me, just dishing out a bit of retribution here!_" The cheery tone was enough to make Iblis want to spit up something. "_Didn't you hear? This guy wanted to break my wrist! And he hurt Mephy! Tore his head open good and left him to bleed out in a frozen alley filled with snow, he did!_" Dark closed his eyes and deepened his smirk. "_I think that it's only fair, after all..._"

"_No! You do _not_ do that!_" Iblis recovered as quickly as he could and tried to bring Dark back into a calmer state. "_That's not even a fair trade off!_"

"_You're right... I'm letting him off too easy._" Dark was missing the point. "_... I could just trash him and leave him where no one goes... With the muteness, that seems about equivalent to happened to Mephy!_" Dark's smile faded and his teeth bared angrily, closing his fingers around the robot's arm. "_He had NOTHING to do with what you wanted! NOTHING! That was bad enough! But now you want to take my brother away! My real one! I've waited too long to find him again, you will NOT take him too! No! I am tired of never having anything! It's always being taken!_" The calm voice was now a shout.

It was hard to tell what Metal was thinking, without his notepad and pen able to be used, much less his fingers able to hold them... But the dimming of the lighted eyes, and the shape of them changing from ovals to smaller circles, as if suggesting pupil contraction of fear. This was really a situation he was not prepared for... Something he had no pre-imagined scenario to react to...

"_Dark! That will accomplish nothing!_" Iblis shouted, trying to get through to him. "_I already discussed that with him! You don't need to actually do anything-!_"

"_Oh, really! And did he respond?_" Dark snapped back, thinned quills raising slightly. "_Last I checked, I tore out his voice maker! That's what the pen and paper are for! He was probably intending on ratting you out, and having you removed from here! Is that what you want! You'll be put in a cage, and it only gets worse from there! Oh, much, MUCH worse!_" Dark was fuming at the idea of it all, panting heavily through clenched teeth, slamming a fist to the wall near Metal's head, a visible vibration set through the shadows that coated the wall from the point of impact.

"_Be rational! He's tried to prove I was here before, and nobody believed him! What makes this time any different!_"

"_Did it occur to you that he might have a camera built in and gained proof enough that way!_" Dark bared his teeth more, bristling the fur on his shoulders slowly. "_He could be recording this right now, even!_"

"_Then that's even more than enough reason to leave him alone!_" Iblis countered, moving closer carefully, hands held up in front of him. "_You're showing how dangerous you really can be this way, and that's not really how you are! Please, Dark! Calm down!_"

"_I am calm!_" Dark shouted in a tone that was anything but that, his eyes starting to glow red as a sudden flare up of his powers happened while he stared at the restrained robot. He shifted his grip on Metal's arm and readied himself to begin to damage it... Only for his hand to suddenly let go...

Looking up at the reason why, Dark saw that Iblis had his fingers of one hand pressed against Dark's wrist, hitting a pressure point that caused Dark to release his grip on Metal's arm.

"_Let me go._" Dark growled dangerously, sounding very annoyed at this action.

"_No._"

"_You can't say that to me!_" Dark snapped, trying to pull away.

"_Actually, I just did._" Iblis said in a calm tone that lacked the eerie feeling Dark had carried earlier. "_Now, I suggest you calm down, or do you want me to find another pressure point..? I feel like just the hand is generous enough as it is, considering that you intended to rip a limb off that robot..._"

Dark scoffed.

"_Oh, please! It's not like it can feel anything!_" He shouted as though he could not believe how absurd Iblis sounded to him, waving his free arm exaggeratedly. "_He's nothing more than a series of plastic, metal and silicone components assembled together to emulate the illusion of life!_"

"_He's capable of free thought, responds to danger, and operates independently from his orders; real or not, he's a thinking individual._" Iblis reasoned, still not letting Dark's wrist go.

"_Then he should have realized it was wrong to take me away from Mephy! Or that clawing into someone's head, throwing them into a wall, and leaving them for dead isn't the best way to be on anyone's good side!_" Dark barked, shaking his head roughly. "_Or how about threatening to snap my wrist? And let's not forget right now, with what he was going to do!_"

"_The point is, he hasn't done it yet!_"

"_Kinda hard to do when he's adhered to the wall!_"

"_That's it!_"

"_What are you-? Ow!_"

Iblis shifted his grip to the inside of Dark's elbow, pressing his fingers against the skin and the tendons underneath, causing Dark's hand to twitch and writhe in pain and discomfort at this.

"_What the-_" Dark, I can't keep finding clever ways to censor you! Restrain yourself! "_-are you doing!_" The shadow screeched in a higher tone, trying to ignore the discomfort of squeezing of that area on his thin arm. "_Seriously! That hurts!_"

"_I'm disabling the use of this arm for right now..._"

"_So...? I still have the other arm!_"

"_I can repeat that if you like!_"

"_... Holy... My arm feels numb! I can't feel it! What did you do!_" Dark suddenly panicked, reaching his other hand over to try and shove Iblis away, trying to pull himself back to get free, but Iblis maintained a good hold on him either way. "_What did you do to it! I can't feel my fingers! I can't feel my hand! What did you do!_"

"_I just hit a pressure point... It'll do that until I let go._"

"_Then let go!_" Dark was starting to panic, because the numb feeling in his arm was startling to him. Worse yet, it felt like it was spreading and in addition to the slight pain in the crook of his arm... His vision was starting to get fuzzy. "_You're hurting me! Stop!_"

"_I'm sorry, but you gave me no other choice..._" Iblis sighed, not moving his fingers. "_... I'd have used the pressure point on your neck instead, which is less painful and quicker... But there was no way to do that without you catching on and striking me..._"

"_I'm sorry! Please stop it!_" His vision was now getting darker. That freaked him out even more. "_I-I'm going blind!_"

"_No, you're not. Your blood pressure is just dropping and standing is too much work at the moment... You'll just faint, and wake up a little later, hopefully calmed down..._" Iblis fought back the urge to just let go and stop the process, knowing that Dark just needed to cool off, and possibly rest.

"_Let me go! S-Stop!_"

"_... I'm really sorry, Little Brother..._" Iblis said in a low voice as the effects finally set in completely, and Dark fell forward with a weak groan as Iblis let go of the pressure point and caught him in his arms before he hit the ground, having little to no trouble at all supporting his frail twin's thin weight. "_... But you really left me no choice... I hope you'll feel better when you wake up again..._"

The surrounding oily black shadows that surrounded them began to dissolve, returning to their point of origin that was the short, hedgehog shaped shadow that was now unconscious in his brother's arms. The dark restraints pinning Metal Sonic to the wall released him, and the robot dropped to the ground in a crouched position, one arm bracing him forward, as he turned his head frantically to scan the room, baffled that the shadows that had saturated it were now gone as quickly as they came.

"_I supposed it's a bit much to ask of you to not mention any of this to anyone..?_" Iblis had nearly forgotten about Metal once he had decided that calming Dark down was much more important.

Metal jerked his head to stare upwards at Iblis, LED lights now shaped back into the usual ovals with no real noticeable change to it's appearance, as though the robot could be staring blankly at him. Then Metal jumped up, back against the wall, and inched to the door in that manner, as though worried that if his back was to them, what just happened would happen again. Slipping out the door, and presumably following the same manner along the outside, Iblis saw Metal's hand reach for the notepad and pen, yank them behind the wall, and after some more scribbles, the sound of tearing paper was heard, as well as crumpling before the piece was thrown into the room in Iblis' direction, hitting the floor and rolling until it touched Iblis' foot. The flame, unable to reach for it for the moment, being preoccupied with the shadow in his arms, carefully tended to placing Dark on the bed, trying his best to emulate the likely most comfortable position Dark favored, and once he was done, he picked up the wadded paper, and unraveled it to see what was written.

_Stay away from me, and we have a deal._ was put there in hastily used penmanship, telling that Metal was indeed in a hurry to get away from them as quickly as he could.

Carefully folding the paper, Iblis chanced a small smile at this knowledge that he was going to be left alone from now on, but the smile soon faded when he looked at Dark, still knocked out and on the bed.

"_... Was that because of what I did to you..?_" He asked in a soft tone, not really expecting an answer. He sighed and sat in the chair near the bed, lowering his head.


	48. Getting There

Dark woke up hours later, at first slowly fluttering his eyes open, before jerking back and upright, panting heavily as he scooted until his back was pressed against the wall that the head of the bed was against. Looking upward, then scanning his eyes along the edge where the walls met the ceiling, then downward, back up and down once more as if checking everywhere he could from where he was, he finally closed his eyes and tilted his head back, hand to his forehead before sliding down, forcefully controlling his breathing.

"_I take it you're awa-_"

Iblis didn't quite finish, on account of Dark shouting in shock and grabbing the pillow behind himself before gripping it with both hands and smacking the flame in the face with it... Shockingly with enough force to knock him and the chair backwards and to the tiled floor.

"_Oh geeze! Don't SCARE me like that!_" Dark shouted apologetically, hands instinctively brought to his face, as if anticipating a reprimanding strike as he shuddered.

"_How the heck did you manage to hit me that hard with a _pillow!" Iblis scrambled off the toppled chair and got to his feet, absolutely baffled as he held his nose with both hands. "_By all means, It's just fabric and stuffing! Right in the nose again! Why is it always the dang nose!_"

"_... I can flip a couch if I freak out... That should give you an idea how much power that had behind it..._" Dark cringed, squinting one eye as he turned his head away partly. "_... S-sorry..._"

"_... I should be glad it was a pillow, and not a flowerpot, then..._" The flame half joked, trying to make light of the situation. "_... Good to see you're awake again..._"

"_..._"

Iblis was about to make up a reason as to why Dark had been unconscious again, to not further worry him, but before Iblis could inhale to begin, Dark cut him off.

"_I did something bad, again... Didn't I..?_"

The flame closed his mouth slowly, biting down on his lower lip as he looked to the floor, folding his ears back. Dark did the same with his own ears.

"_... How much do you remember..?_" Iblis looked up at him.

"_... Enough to know that I deserved more than just a pressure point knock out..._"

"_... I'm really sorry for having to do it that way, but you would have countered me long before I could even reach out to your neck..._" Iblis shook his head, closing his eyes briefly. "_... You don't still feel like slamming your head against a wall anymore, do you..?_"

"_... No... That's passed..._" Dark's pale face got slightly red along the bridge of his snout, embarrassed by that action. He tried to avoid eye contact. "_... I'm going absolutely insane from all this, though... I need to get out of here soon..._"

"_I'm sure that Mephiles is trying the best he can to get here..._"

"_Iblis! Be reasonable!_" Dark snapped at him suddenly, earning a flinch. "_If he were coming, he would have been here by now! It's been almost two months! And even if he was on his way right now, what about Dire! Mephy would not be safe as long as that thing is still messing with me!_"

"_That thing won't be there forever... You'll find a way to get rid of him, and you'll never have to worry about it again..._" Iblis tried to talk to him calmly. "_And you should take into account that Mephiles needs to not only find out were to find you, but how to get there as well... And that's not an overnight thing... It's something that requires time and patience..._"

"_Don't talk to me about time and patience!_" Dark growled, narrowing his eyes. "_How about waiting ten years to see my first glimpse of sunlight! Or waiting that long to finally have the freedom to move about where it's not one indistinguishable field of black! Or waiting to find-!_"

"_I get the point._"

"_I'm always waiting for something to go right for once! So don't tell me that if I wait for something long enough, it'll happen! Because I know the truth!_"

Iblis sensed that Dark was getting hysterical yet again, and without a word or a moment's pause, he stepped forward and placed a hand on Dark's shoulder, causing the shadow to jerk slightly and look at him as if having forgotten he was there.

"_... How about if we walk around the room for a bit? You've been down a lot recently, and I'm sure you don't want to have to make yourself learn how to walk again._" Iblis said calmly, managing a small smile at that suggestion. "_I know it's still the same old room, but it's something other than laying down..._"

Staring at him briefly, Dark finally nodded with a little hesitation, as if unsure of how that would pan out. Sliding to the edge of the bed, he got ready to get off, Iblis quickly reaching over to help him.

"_I can do this by myself..._" Dark said in a short tone, as if annoyed. "_... Stop babying me..._"

"_Can you really blame me for trying..?_"

"_..._" Dark paused. "_... I suppose not..._" He said slowly, looking away.

* * *

Another day spent in Adabat, and perhaps the most wondrous thing happened to Chip. I hope I don't have to explain much about it, because a good number of us have already seen Chip's story, and should know how, when, and why he got his memories back. Remember... This is Mephiles and Dark's story...

"I can't believe this!" Chip, or rather, "Light Gaia", flew circles around his friends in excitement. "All this time, I've been somebody very important! I'm actually the guardian of the whole planet! Can you imagine being the other part of such a super powerful thing?"

"No... I can't imagine..." Mephiles half lied, knowing full well that he could very well imagine that. "... So all this time, we've been hanging around with the guy who can fix all this..? Wow..."

"Hey, you guys have been helping me try and get my memory back!" Chip touched down to the wooden platform the rest stood on, and looked up with his tiny hands on his hip. "If anything, you're the ones who are amazing! Didn't know a thing about me, where I came from, who I was, why I was there, and took me on an adventure all over the world just to help me!"

"So what happens now?" Tails asked. "We've only got one temple left to restore, and Chip's memory is back... So that just leaves..." Tails was checking the map, scribbling out a few things. "The last temple, stopping Eggman, and getting his brother back..." Tails gestured to Mephiles.

"Really? We're really that close now?" Mephiles' eyes lit up with the kind of excitement you might find in a child much younger than him. "I can finally get Dark and bring him home? I-I mean, I'm so excited about that and all, but it's not like I'm saying I didn't enjoy myself with you guys, b-but-!"

"Hey, we understand." Sonic spoke up. "Adventuring isn't really your thing. You're more at home just staying put..."

"... Only because I'm too scared to leave the house.../i" The younger blue hedgehog mumbled sheepishly.

"You just took a near two month long trip around the planet, fighting off little neon monsters, being well outside your comfort zone, and you're doing that all for someone you really care about..." The hedge-wolf Sonic pointed out. "... On top of that, you tried to get between one of the most dangerous of Eggman's robots and your brother to stop it..."

"... And nearly got my head bashed in for that... He still took Dark..."

"It still took a lot to stand up to Metal Sonic like that."

"... I guess so..."

* * *

"_Dark! Dark! Snap out of it!_"

Dark's eyes shot wide open and he tried to assess what was going on. The first thing he noticed was that he was standing shakily on his feet. His arms were draped over his twin's shoulders, his head resting against one of them, a slight curve in his spine as if he might have been sliding down during whatever trance he fell into...

Trying to jerk free to salvage whatever shred of dignity he might still have, Dark pulled away and stumbled backwards, into the wall, as he lost his footing. Unsurprisingly, Iblis was quick to try and catch him, managing to do so before the back of Dark's head struck the wall, with the shadow staring at him with a dazed expression, as if not entirely sure what just happened.

"_I got you... Calm down..._" Iblis said gently, trying to keep Dark from shoving away, as Dark was still in a bit of shock.

"_W-what just..? I-I was j-just..._" He stuttered, trying to make sense of the world around him, pushing at Iblis to get free. "_W-where am I! Why am I here! WHY AM I HERE!_"

"_You're in a recovery room in the middle of some crazy Human's base, remember...?_" Iblis knew Dark was just freaking out again, but he was certain his twin would calm down in a few minutes, once his brain caught up with everything. "_... I know that didn't sound even the least bit comforting, but there's no way to sugarcoat it... Aside from the fact that at least you're not all alone in here..._"

"_I-I'm okay... I'm okay... I'm okay... Wait, no I'm not!_" Dark had seemed like he was easing into a less distressed state, nodding to no rhythm, sliding his hands to the back of his head, before suddenly shaking his head and panting quickly. He looked up at Iblis with round eyes. "_I'm not! What just happened! I-I was... I was t-talking to you, and... And w-we we're walking the room's p-perimeter... I was f-facing a different d-direction! H-how did I end up like that! What happened! I don't remember!_"

"_There's no reason to be so upset. Nothing happened..._" Iblis tried to reassure him. "_You just spaced out, and I caught you before you fell..._"

"_Then why were you telling me to 'snap out of it'!_" Dark countered fiercely, not convinced. "_If it was really that simple, then why did you say that! Don't you dare lie to me!_"

Dark had a good point. Iblis inwardly cursed his good attention to details... Dark was pretty sharp on those sorts of things...

"_... Okay... You did sort of cry out, but honestly, that was it!_" Iblis tried again to reassure him. "_Nothing blew up, there was no power sparks, and you didn't go crazy._"

"_... Thank you for telling me what can happen when I space out..._" Dark muttered in a dry, sarcastic tone, rolling his eyes before blinking and narrowing them. "_... Are you sure..?_"

"_Of course._" Iblis nodded, taking note of how pale and shaken Dark looked now. He frowned in concern, reaching over to help him up. "_... If you need to lean on me, don't hesitate..._"

"_... I'm fine..._" Dark protested, shaking his head as he absentmindedly tried to pry his arm from Iblis' hand without much real effort.

"_Don't hesitate to lean on me..._" Iblis said again anyway, knowing how stubborn Dark was going to be about that. "_... Are you alright..?_"

"_... That depends on your definition of the term..._" Dark wiped the back of his free hand above his left eye, looking to the floor. "_... If by that, you mean whether or not I'm going to faint, then the answer is 'Yes, I'm fine'..._"

"_Are you sure? Because earlier you were wanting to..._" Iblis faded the sentence off, almost as if he were afraid that merely speaking it would spark the possibility that Dark would consider the option.

"_What..? Smack my head into a wall until I was unconscious?_" Dark said almost as if it was merely a suggestion to change the channel. He snorted softly through his nose and shook his head. "_... Sometimes, I say things I never intend to act upon when I'm under a lot of stress..._"

"_Then why on Mobius would you even suggest such an idea!_" Iblis was halfway between baffled and appalled. "_And it's not like you haven't tried to actually do something like that before!_"

"_... Oh... Right... I forgot that..._" Dark's face flushed a bit at that as he was now on his feet, though still a bit shakily. "_... I dunno why I'm having trouble standing... If I didn't know any better... I'd say..._"

Dark faded off in mid-sentence, looking down again slowly and his face becoming quite blank in expression, his posture going slack as Iblis quickly caught him with both hands before the shadow collapsed.

"_Oh, geeze, Dark! What's wrong now!_" Iblis recognized right away that Dark had fallen into the same type of trance as he had done at least a quarter of an hour before now. "_This can't be a normal occurrence, even for you! Dark!_"

As quickly as it happened... Dark snapped out of his daze just as fast, this time shouting repeatedly in shock as he tried to pull away again, not realizing that Iblis had been trying to keep him from falling.

"No! No! Let me go! Let me go! No! Get away! Someone, please! Let me go! Ahh! Ahhh!" Dark was looking around wildly, eyes not particularly focused, which was enough to tell the flame that his twin had just some sort of vision.

As Dark continued to cry out in fear, eyes tightly squeezed shut now, cheeks wet with tears, and body shaking as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice water on him... Iblis eased him to the ground carefully, trying to calm him down once again.

"_Whatever you're afraid of, isn't here!_" Iblis was getting desperate now, as he had no idea what was really wrong with Dark this time, much less how to ease in back into a calmed state. "_I'm right here, Dark! Whatever it is you're scared of would have to get past me first!_"

After what must have been five minutes of absolute Chaos, miraculously with Dark's powers not sparking off beyond just a bit of light flickering this time... The younger twin finally started to breathe more evenly, reducing his screams to no more than whimpers, and gripping a hand to his other wrist with a few quick squeezes before repeating with his other hand and wrist, as if checking to be completely sure whatever he was checking for wasn't there.

"_... Oh... Th-thank you... Thank you... Th-thank you..._" He stammered in a low voice, half giggling in relief while he still whimpered, collapsing against Iblis.

"_What in the name of Soleanna was THAT all about!_" Iblis demanded in a voice that was half a bark of anger and the other half, a squeak of worry, making him sound somewhat strained in tone.

"_... Thank you, th-that wasn't happening... Everything is alright... I'm s-safe... I'm safe..._" Dark didn't exactly answer, and just mumbled, snorting and smiling nervously while shaking his head slowly.

"_... Did you even hear me..?_"

"_... Hmm..?_" Dark lifted a droopy ear in response, still shuddering from a post adrenaline rush.

"_I asked you what that was all about._"

"_... What was what all about..?_" Dark looked up blearily, sliding to the floor. "_... What did it look like to you..?_"

"_You were screaming for someone to help you, is what I saw!_" Iblis shouted, partly frustrated that Dark seemed clueless about what they just went through. "_For the past five minutes!_"

"_... No... No, no, no, that's not right..._" Dark shook his head with a horrified look. "_... I should have... Should have zoned out or s-something!_"

"_Whatever it was scared you bad enough to have you in tears._" Iblis added, to which Dark quickly brought his hand to his face and touched under his eyes, confirming that fact for himself.

"_... Oh, no... N-nothing blew up... Right..?_" The last word was almost in a squeak.

Seeing how even more shaken Dark was now, Iblis sighed and calmly placed a hand on the shadow's back, mentally noting how quickly the fur stood on end before Dark managed to suppress his deep rooted fear based reaction with a slight blush of embarrassment, the fur smoothing down.

"_Nothing happened beyond the lights flickering..._" Iblis said truthfully, allowing a short laugh at that. "_If anything, that was the best of all the other reactions..._"

"_... Are you lying to make me feel better..?_"

"_No, that's the truth. Do you see anything that looks like it got blown up here?_"

Dark shook his head slowly.

"_Then there you go._" Iblis reassured. "_Now, on the subject of things happening while you freaked out..._"

Dark folded his ears back, and bit his lower lip, but didn't speak.

"_Dark..?_" Iblis said in a careful tone. "_The first thing you did when you snapped out of it was check your wrists..._"

"_... I... I was just... Uh... I w-was..._" Dark was fumbling for a way to answer, but could only stutter instead.

"_You squeezed them like you were checking to make sure nothing was on them..._" Iblis explained further, raising an eyebrow. "_... What did you see..? Please, tell me..?_"

Dark shook his head slowly, as if afraid to speak about it.

"_... Look, I know I'm not Mephiles..._" Iblis tried again, reaching over to pull him up so he wasn't still laying on the floor. Dark merely drew his arms closer to himself, as if trying to make himself as small looking as possible, not even so much as trying to reach out for his twin to hold onto him. "_... And I'm sure he could have you talking about it by now... But I'm at least trying... So you can either help me back by at least telling me what it was that was about your wrists that had you so scared... Or you can just stay quiet, continue to worry me, continue to be scared... It really up to you, I can't make you beyond asking..._"

Still no response, other than staring.

Iblis sighed heavily.

"_... Alright, then..._" He said, shaking his head slowly. "_... Well, can't leave you on the floor here, so I'm gonna just take you back to the bed..._"

"... I don't wanna go to sleep..."

Iblis paused halfway in lifting him off the ground, as Dark's voice had lost the growl once again, the shadow having his arms now around him, clinging tightly as if afraid he was going to be just dropped suddenly.

"_... You don't have to... We could watch something, instead..._"

"... I d-don't wanna g-go to sleep..." Dark repeated in a cracked tone, hiding his face by burying in his twin's side.

"_I just said you don't have to..._" Iblis was slightly worried that Dark was lapsing back into whatever state he was in a quarter of an hour ago. "_... Are you still with me, Dark..?_"

"... Hmm..?"

"_... I'm not sure if you're still lucid..._" Iblis wasn't even sure Dark was even hearing him at all, or was simply responding to his voice, or even just humming absentmindedly at this point from being so worn out. "_... Can you still hear me..?_"

"_... Uh, huh..._" Dark nodded feebly, looking up with half closed eyes once he was set on the bed again. "_... J-just a little exhausted... D-don't wanna sleep, though..._"

"_... I can understand why... But if you're tired..._" Iblis tried to carefully pry him off of him. "_... You can't really help it if you do..._"

"_... I was being t-taken away..._"

"_... S-sorry, what?_"

"_... Th-that's what I s-saw..._" Dark was still keeping a good grip, despite being so tired. "_... I ch-checked my wrists b-because they were b-bound t-together..._"

"_... Wouldn't you have been able to get out of them, though..? You can't melt into a shadow..._"

"_N-not if I'm too t-terrified..._" Dark stammered, shaking his head, head still down. "_... I-It's like the st-stairs... I c-can do it, yes... But I c-can't if I'm sc-scared out of my m-mind..._" He shuddered. "_... I'm v-vulnerable th-that way..._"

"_... And being taken away by force is something that scares you..._" Iblis didn't even need to ask to confirm it.

"_... N-not just th-that..._" Dark continued. "_... In order f-for that to happen... Th-that means that s-something bad happened to... S-something bad happened... Mmrrrm..._" That last word was really just Dark cutting himself off and muffling himself, but you can guess what he meant.

"_... You can't be complete sure th-_"

"_Then why wasn't he trying to stop them!_" Dark snapped angrily, lifting his head and revealing that tears were starting to form again. "_If he was alright, he would be trying to stop them from even getting close enough to do that to me!_"

Iblis knew Dark had a point, even if the idea was unsettling.

"_... How often has what you've seen actually come true..?_" He tried to find even the slightest bit of evidence that Dark might be wrong, just so that he could Dark some bit of hope that it would never happen. "_... I mean, Mephiles is the one who has visions, right..?_"

"_... I don't have visions... I See what happens in every timeline crossroads we come across and will come to..._" Dark responded with a slight bit of fierceness in his voice, as if daring Iblis to prove his ability to be just a delusion. "_... Sometimes, it happens just the way I Saw it... Sometimes only partly... And other times, we avoid it completely... More than once, it show me something seemingly trivial, only for it to end out in disaster..._"

"_... So you see the future, more or less..?_"

"_... No, I See outcomes..._" Dark folded his ears back, looking a little sad again. "_... It's a terrible thing, most of the time... I See how things might have turned out, and they never do... Or I See horrible outcomes that leave me just as shell shocked as if they really did happen when they choose not to come at all..._"

"_... Well, then, maybe this was just one that might never happen..?_" Iblis gave up on trying to pry Dark off him, and just sat down next to him.

"_It doesn't change the fact that somewhere in the flow of time, there's a me that has possibly lost a Mephy for good!_" Dark snapped again, as if he couldn't believe that was overlooked. "_Just as there's several versions of me that are dead, in comas, still trapped, still insane, still suffering, dying, and even-!_"

"_But, hold on! Shouldn't there be ones that are happy as well..?_" Iblis cut across him, desperate to keep him from getting upset again. "_... Wouldn't there be at least one who none of that..?_"

Dark hesitated, shifting his eyes to the side in thought, moving his mouth without words, thinking to himself before responding: "_... I've never Seen them directly, because they'd exist on some tangent to our timeline... But if I'm thinking right, I'd estimate a few off the bat... One who never experienced anything like what we've had to because the Soleanna Disaster never happened... One who would have managed to block the proper part of his mind and never went insane... One who still went insane, but from loneliness because an alternate Mephy might have never met him, but entertained himself with his scattered thoughts..._" Dark rattled off, counting them. "_... One who never recovered from the stairs injury completely, and remained simple in thoughts because he forgot what he was hurt about... One much like that one, but because an alternate Shadow has no reason to hold a grudge over him at that point, he's probably accepted as part of the family right away... One who probably died, happy to know that his alternate Mephy was safe... One who just listened to his Mephy and went straight home instead of pulling him into that alley... And maybe one who was able to keep his mind together better than I did during all this... Just to name a few..._"

"_... So, how many alternates do you estimate..?_"

"_... It'd be easier to estimate how many seconds I've ever been alive... There's several for every second I decide on something... Many of the having copies that exist within everyone else's alternates' subuniverses, because my actions aren't the only ones that dictate outcomes..._" Dark freed one hand to rub at his head as if it were getting sore from thinking too much about it. "_... There's so many variables, even the slightest huff of air can spin things around... that's why I really actually hated time travel... a butterfly flapping it's wings a second too soon could bring a coconut down on my head..._"

"_Wait... Time travel..?_" Iblis was confused well enough as it was.

"_... Oh, right... Didn't you ever hear..? It's something I used to do... Got sick of it, after I found out doing that could cause paradoxes and time loops... Unfortunately, one of the versions of me, or rather, a lot of them, never figured that detail out and trapped themselves and and everyone of us related to their timelines in a few loops that caused a lot of trouble..._" Dark half laughed sourly, wrapping his arm around Iblis again, resting his head on the white chest fluff, and looking up. "_... Are you aware of the one between Shadow and I..? In which we both caused ourselves to cause the others to do something that causes ourselves in the past to repeat it again..? I send him forward in time, he finds me, I go backwards in time, he goes to the moment I was created, traps me for what I'm supposed to do, I take it out on him at the first time he meets me in his time, because he has yet to meet me, but I think it's the same him from trapping me... Rinse and repeat... Thank Chaos Mephy was able to sort the details out more clearly... Though I still say it's Shadow's fault... Because I was barely brought into existence when he decided to tell me what a horrible monster I was destined to be according to his encounters... Nice thing to know, right..? After you just get traumatically ripped from your brother, and find yourself in a destroyed lab room with dying people who caused this in their own foolings... What he should have done was leave me alone, and I would have never even known it could have happened..._"

"_... Why do you have that ability, and I don't..?_"

Dark shrugged.

"_... If I had to guess... We make up Solaris, right..?_" He tilted his head. "_Or, more like a variant... Anyway... Solaris controls Time and Space... We're two halves, and I have Time... You probably have Space, and just don't know it... It's probably part of why you were on another plane of existence for a while... And I could still see you, because Time bridges the gaps through Space... It's making more sense now, actually..._"

"_... You lost me at 'Space'..._"

Dark smiled slightly, closing his eyes.

"_Don't worry... It took me a long time to even begin to grasp the concept... But the sooner you start learning about it, the sooner it'll make even a little bit of sense..._" He yawned, and cursed softly to himself. "_... Still don't wanna go to sleep..._"

"_... You can't keep delaying that, though..._"

"_... I know..._" Dark mumbled with a nod, shifting himself to be more comfortable in his position. "_... Don't you ever sleep..?_"

"_... I'm still getting used to the idea and practice, but so far, only after I'm sure you're alright when you do..._"

"_... I've yet to see you eat something..._" Dark pointed out, opening an eye halfway. "_... You keep trying to make sure I'm not the one starving... Yet I haven't seen you eat at all..._"

"_... Honestly, they leave you only enough for yourself... So I don't have much to work with, but what you haven't touched, I've just picked at that..._" Iblis explained with a short laugh. "_... I'm not really picky on what I like at the moment, but I can't see how you prefer to live off of plant products and only that..._"

"_... After spending a long time with a small creature as my only friend... eating something that is unable to defend itself against me if we faced off feels kinda... wrong to me... A chicken is a mostly flightless bird, for example... And you can easily mesmerize them by waving your hand in a circle above their heads... Seems unfair to me..._"

"_Okay then... By that logic, would you consider eating, say... bear meat, or something just as big and dangerous..?_"

"_... Would I-? What in Chaos is wrong with you?_" Iblis had to keep himself from laughing at the absolutely bewildered look Dark had despite being tired. "_First off, I doubt there's a place to buy it... Second, if there was, I wouldn't even think of it... Third, I said I don't eat meat... And last... Are you suggesting I can't defend myself from a bear..?_"

This coming from someone who looked as scrawny and small as Dark was (not so much as the power he was able to dish out...), this was somewhat humorous.

"_... Are you laughing at me..?_"

"_... No, that's just a phrase you don't hear very often..._"

"_... I don't get it..._"


	49. And So We Reach The Appex Or Whatever

"... I don't like it here..." Mephiles said while looking around nervously as Tails set the plane in a sort of idle mode, Sonic and Chip having jumped out earlier to get a head start on finding the last Gaia Temple while Tails helped Mephiles locate Dark. "... There's too many whirring sounds, and it doesn't look friendly at all..."

"... Where did he get all the Rings to _buy_ this stuff..?" Tails glanced Eggman statue, the Eggman themed entrance, and, I kid you not, the Eggman themed food a robot vendor was selling that Mephiles quickly stated in a small voice that it smelled like garbage, holding both hands over his sensitive nose, eyes watering slightly.

"... Where would he even be able to buy them from..?" The hedgehog asked as well, holding onto the camera that Sonic must have left behind, as it was sitting by the Eggman statue, and looked exactly like the one they'd been using to extract the creatures. Mephiles figured it might come in handy later, and so he slung the strap around his neck and shoulder in a manner one might do with a tote bag, keeping it secure and freeing his hands up. He had made sure before they left Adabat for here to check in with Shadow and Rouge to let them know where he was as well.

Outside of the entrance, the robots did nothing to stop them whatsoever, which was baffling enough as it was, but once the two of them were deemed as a nuisance, they had a bit more trouble moving forward.

Mephiles couldn't help but notice that the first hallway resembled a hall inside the old Soleanna laboratory to a chilling degree, and couldn't get out of there fast enough when he realized just how much it did.

Then came the end of the hall, and it spilled out to reveal a massive factory of some kind amidst a volcanic atmosphere that seemed to stretch on forever. One problem... Where they were, it dropped off like a cliff and had no obvious way to cross over the lava far below... All Mephiles saw were some large, strange red spring objects with stars painted on them. Surely...?

"... How do we get across..?" He said, shaking his head and looking behind him, as if checking to be sure no other robots were approaching. "... I don't think I can hover long enough, and I'd be too scared... And it's too far for you... I think..."

Tails looked at him and grinned slowly.

"Ever tried a spring before?"

"... Can't say that I haAAAAAAAAAA-!" The hedgehog screamed when the fox shoved him into the large springs, which made a **BOING!** sound as they launched him into the air and towards a platform at least fifty feet away, Tails close behind him. Mephiles hit the platform rolled into a ball, uncurling onto his back to stop as Tails spun his namesakes just feet from the target, slowing his decent and touching down more gracefully.

"Sorry, the first landings are always kinda rough..." He apologized to the now frightened hedgehog. "Sonic hits the ground running, and Knuckles glides to a stop... You kinda have to figure out your own landing..."

"Why would you just shove me into one of those!" Mephiles shouted in shock, sitting up and scrambling to his feet. "What if it was offset and threw me right into that lava! I might be fireproof, but I'd still feel the heat, and that's HOT! Why!"

"Those things always aim someplace stable, unless you see Eggman's face painted on them..." Tails explained sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Those ones shove you back and laugh at you..."

"And just how many of those have you seen!"

"I stopped counting years ago..."

* * *

Dark snapped his head up suddenly, ears perking forward as stared ahead before relaxing a little.

"_... What's up..?_" Iblis had jumped a bit at the sudden movement.

"_... Something just... Clicked..._" Dark tried to explain the best he could for this phenomenon. "_... I know that feeling, too... There's only one way it happens... He's close..._"

"_Who? Mephiles?_" Iblis said as Dark nodded, who didn't look too pleased about that fact, leaving the flame confused. "_... I would have thought you'd be jumping for joy or something at that..._"

"_... You don't understand... This is bad._" Dark looked at him, eyes wider than normal. "_... Dire isn't gone yet... And add that to that dread I've been feeling about him getting hurt... I-It's too soon..._"

"_But you've been waiting for him for two months now!_"

"_... I... I know, but..._" Dark was hesitant, biting down on his lower lip. "_... I-It's too soon... It should happen later..._"

"_... Did you ever stop and think for a moment that maybe everything happens for a reason..?_" Iblis said suddenly, further confusing Dark.

"_... I'm not sh-sure I follow..._"

"_You said that you can see what will happens, can happen and might have happened..._" The flame scratched behind his ear. "_Ever just stop and let things just... Happen..?_"

"_If I did, now would be the worst time to do it!_" Dark snapped, folding his ears back. "_Maybe I wasn't clear enough: Mephiles is going to get hurt if he gets here too soon!_" Dark pronounced each syllable as loud and clearly he could without actually shouting.

"_... You seem to very sure this is going to happen..._"

"_Have you been listening to me at all!_"

"_... You really don't need this kinda stress..._" Iblis muttered while watching another quill fall out, apprehensively.

"_You're not even hearing me, are you!_"

"_Seriously, chill._" Iblis closed his eyes and rubbed at a spot below his ears. "_I understand that you're worried, but has it ever occurred to you that being worried might cause what you're afraid of happening to happen..?_"

"_Maybe because the last time I casually let something happen after I Saw it, I was thrown down a set or two of stairs!_" Dark snapped back. "_I never even had a warning! I did exactly what I should have done, and that's what I got out of it!_"

"_I really don't understand how it works or why, because I don't have that sort of thing..._" Iblis shook his head and opened his eyes again. "_... And, granted, I haven't been really all there until recently, so I'm still learning about things... But I can't help but notice that you and Mephiles both defy so many odds, no matter how much is stacked against you._"

"_And just what does that have to do with anything?_" Dark growled in a low voice, narrowing his eyes.

"_Well, let's put a number of sorts to it, shall we?_" Iblis sighed, tilting his head a slight way to the right. "_A hedgehog happened to be by you when the explosion brought us to existence in this world, after you split from me. That hedgehog was with you the entire time you were trapped, giving you a friend who would eventually become one of the most important people in your life. You survived many instances that could have very well killed you, even when you had no pulse or breath. You've pulled through head injuries without so much as a hemorrhage from all the impact trauma... That's a lot already._"

"_All it shows is that I'm merely being messed with for someone's own amusement, whoever they are..._"

"_..._"

"_..._"

"_... You're like a constant downer, you know that right..?_"

* * *

"That man is insane!" Mephiles was standing between two orbiting points of a set of teacup rides on tracks, arms drawn close and one foot half way in the air. It wasn't the large, rotating teacups that worried him... It was that they were on fire.

"Sonic must have already gone through here..." Tails noted the twisted shrapnel of what was assumed to be remains of the robots that must have guarded the lever that activated the now hovering platform ahead of them. "It's like Eggman couldn't decide to go for a theme park or a factory, and just compromised in the middle..."

"Why! What purpose would spinning teacups filled with burning, flaming coals serve!" Mephiles narrowly dodged a particularly odd one that flared up a spurt of fire, as he worked his way to the platform with Tails. "It's not fun! It's not functional! It's just there, and they don't even move things to one point or another! That's just twisted and-!"

"You seem to be taking this personally..."

"... I like spinning teacup rides..." The hedgehog blushed slightly, looking away. "... The kinds that aren't on fire..."

"... Well, you're gonna have a bad time if you like things that aren't on fire... Because it looks like there gonna be a lot of that until we get to the center of things..."

"... Aw, crud..."

* * *

"No... We are not getting anything that requires only an allen wrench to assemble it." Shadow shook his head. "How can you expect something to be sturdy if you need one of these-" He held up the tool in question, which was thinner than a pencil and almost as long as his finger. "-to put it together? And most of those things they sell there are made of plywood!"

"They might not last long with Humans, because of the weight and all that... But those boys can't be much more than sixty pounds each... I'm sure that it's well below the limit for how much those beds can handle." Rouge pointed out. "Besides, they come in flat boxes that are easy to carry a lot at once. Less trips between the store and here."

"If we do that, I'm using the power drill to put them tougher, not those flimsy screw-bolts. And we're using wood screws." Shadow folded his arms. "And we're bolting that bookcase to the wall... That keeps breaking my model..."

"Wouldn't it be a better idea to move that thing somewhere else? Because if it keeps getting broken where it's at, maybe that's not a good place for it?" Rouge looked up from the catalogue.

"That's the only place higher than what Sharpe can reach of fly up to."

"Has he actually tried to break it yet?"

"... No. But I'm not taking any chances."

"..."

"What?"

"... You realize that making it obvious that he's not supposed to be near it only makes him more curious, don't you?"

"You've seen what he does to quills and pillows. I'm not wanting to see what he can do to plastic."

* * *

Electricity crackled through his body, hands held up in a defensive manner as he stayed frozen in place from the shock, his crystals being a conductor as the electricity temporarily locked his muscles.

_Glad that didn't hit my heart! Ouch!_ Mephiles thought frantically, trying to force himself to move as the robot wielding a sword like object that had dispersed the stunning element stomped closer, the hedgehog unable to move.

Out of nowhere, Tails dropped from above and onto the robot's head, starting the metal thing, as he pried open a hidden panel with a piece of shrapnel, the robot trying all it could to shake the fox off. Then, quickly anticlimactically, it fell over, no longer emitting light or energy, hitting the ground with a heavy **CLUNK!**

"You okay? Can you move?"

Mephiles, due to being frozen from an electrical shock locking up most of his muscles, managed a utterance that sounded oddly like "... Hardly..."

"Don't worry, I got this."

If the immobilized hedgehog could have managed it, he would have started to ask what the fox meant, only to have been cut off by the action the fox did.

Reaching over and to the base of Mephiles' skull, beneath the quills, Tails ran the fingers of one hand down just a little below that and jabbed it just enough to cause Mephiles' nerves to scream, but not enough to invoke any damage, causing him to regain sensation in all affected areas as he jumped back, away from Tails.

"What was that for!"

"It got you to regain feeling again, didn't it?"

"But that hurt!"

"At least you could feel it, and move to get away, right?"

"... Yes..." Mephiles admitted defeatedly, dropping his arms, and lowering his head. "... H-how much longer do we have until we reach the center, you think..?"

"Hard to say from here..." Tails shrugged. "... What with all the obstacles and all... But since Sonic seems to have handled most of the robots... No more than an hour now, I think..."

"... I hope finding Dark there is easier than going through all this stuff..."

* * *

"_Dark... Please sit down..._" Iblis eyed him warily as the shadow paced anxiously in front of the long side of the bed, gnawing absentmindedly upon the base of yet another quill he had plucked from his head this time. "_Seriously... You'll wear both yourself and the tile out at that pace..._"

"_You don't understand. I can't calm down. No, not while I know that something is bound to happen._" Dark rattled off in a more quickened tone compared to normal, hardly taking a breath at the end of each sentence. "_And when it-_"

"_You mean 'If'..._"

"_I know what I mean! Don't cut me off!_" Dark snapped back irritatedly, pulling the quill from his mouth for a moment to clench his fists briefly before eventually sliding it back in as he eased up only just slightly. "_WHEN it happens, there's just a horrible amount of snowballing after that, such as-_" Dark bit down too hard on the quill, which resulted in the brittle spine splintering into several cracked pieces in his mouth, to which he responded by dropping what remained in his hand and trying to spit out the rest in his mouth, crying out in disgust. "_Oh, Chaos! It tastes like fingernails and hair! Augh!_"

"_... Okay, hair I can understand..._" Iblis had to pause to think about this before he handed Dark the water bottle to rinse out his mouth. "_Since you're covered in a lot of it... So hairs have probably gotten on your tongue... But how do you know what fingernails taste like..? Your hands are covered in crystal, you don't have normal nails... you have claws! How!_"

"_I chewed on a nail in rat form just to see what it felt like! Why does that matter, it tastes horrible!_"

"_I do believe you've been told not to chew on those quills before._"

"_It's never split open like that before!_" Dark spat out a mouthful of water and quill fragments into the trash bin, eyes watering slightly.

"_They're in poor condition because you let them get that way..._" Iblis reminded him, not really thinking of how accusing it sounded. Dark glared at him in response. "_What..? They didn't get brittle for no reason. You know it's true..._" Dark capped the bottle calmly and threw it at him, the flame flinching and dodging. "_Hey! Geeze, are you really gonna start that up again?_"

"_Well, sorry that my personal care skills dropped drastically while I was shoved in a cramped cell, taken away from Mephy, thought he was dead and it was my fault, and was convinced that until recent that you were figment haunting me!_" Dark snapped back, bristling his thinned quills. "_Because taking care of myself when I figured no one would care to rescue me seems like a real high priority that I should have given it more thought!_"

More than simply annoyed at that response, Iblis took a deep breath and picked up the bottle off the floor to give back to him.

* * *

Shortcuts were easy to find when you could either squeeze into small spaces or be lucky enough to fly.

And that sort of luck made it easier to move quickly with very few close calls. And the two kid Mobians found the central base of Eggmanland.

I want to be able to give you a mental image of some awesome explosion clearing open a pathway with our young hedgehog hero entering that way... But instead... He found a vent.

If there was one thing he knew instinctively well about... It was crawling around a labyrinth of tunnels and paths much like the burrowing mammal he was could.

The vent led to what appeared to be some sort of supply closet. Kicking out the grate to get in, he and Tails landed on the floor carefully, trying to not make any sounds that would alert anyone of their presence on the base. They were on Eggman's turf now, and could easily be outnumbered in a matter of seconds.

Pressing their ears to the metal door, they listened for any sign of clearance before attempting to leave, Mephiles' hearing being more tuned than Tails'.

Mephiles slowly frowned, however, shuddering slightly.

"What's up?" Tails noticed this right away, and asked in a quiet voice.

"... He's really worried..."

"... Who?"

"... Dark. We're close enough, I can sense him now..." He explained, fidgeting anxiously. "... And he's really worried over something... I can't say what, but he's going mad over it... He needs me..."

"Well, we're not long now. We're inside the base, at least." Tails pulled away from the door.

_... He feels so miserable..._ Mephiles folded his ears back, pulling away from the door as well. _... I'm almost afraid to see how he looks now... He's probably a mess... Poor Dark..._

Several minutes of silence before an alarm sounds off. Both of them jump, almost certain they had been detected, until they heard the announcement alerting everyone that Sonic had made it to the final Gaia Temple.

Breathing sighs of relief, they waited until the scramble to stop Sonic was over and the coast was clear before pushing the door open a little so they could slip out.

"Any idea where he is?" Tails asked.

"... Not exactly, but I can sense him. The closer we are..." Mephiles nodded slowly. "... The stronger the link between our brains... He should be sensing me too, I should think... But he never did figure out how to work it like I do, and has enough trouble trying to decipher his own feelings..."

"So which way?" Tails checked around the corner to be sure so one was coming.

Mephiles looked down the hall in either direction, frowning slightly.

"... I... I think it's this way..." He looked to the left, appearing quite unsure.

"You think, or you know?"

"I... On second thought... I think it's that way..."

* * *

Dark was feeling jittery. Anxious. Maybe a bit nauseous, even.

He was dreading what was going to happen.

He knew that there was going to be conflict between Mephiles and Iblis once the hedgehog knew that the flame was in fact alive and well. He knew that Iblis wasn't going to be pleased if Mephiles decided to not accept him. He knew that Mephiles was going to be hurt if his visions were correct. He knew that it was going to be his fault when that did happen.

And having Dire aware of that feeling only made it worse. Dire was cheerfully expressing his excitement for more negative emotions to come from Dark. That excitement was almost too much for Dark to ignore, and it made his nerves even more shot, adding to the fact that he knew Mephiles was near.

"_Dark? Are you-?_"

Iblis had no idea what he did wrong, but Dark had broken down into tears, wailing loudly and half covering his face in his hands.

"_... No... I guess you're not..._" Iblis said in a concerned tone, awkwardly reaching his arm out to put around Dark's shoulder.

Dark shoved his arm away, moaning in protest before dissolving back into tears. Iblis sighed carefully, knowing that Dark was just reacting on his deep rooted habit of distancing himself when greatly upset. He tried again, this time getting backhanded before he managed to pin Dark's arms to his sides.

"_Can't you see that I want you to leave me alone!_" Dark snapped, not sounding as convincing as he had wanted his words to be.

"_No, you don't. You're just upset and you don't want me to see it, even though I already have..._"

Dark swore under his breath and gave up on trying shove free.

"_... Have you figured out what we're going to do when that hedgehog shows up..?_" Iblis added, trying to fill the silence. "_... Like, what I should do?_"

"_I don't know! Why are you asking me?_"

"_Because he's here to save you. He thinks I'm a horrible person and that I'm dead..._" Iblis reminded him. "_If he finds me here with you without a proper explanation... There could be a serious problem-_"

"_More serious than what I'm worried about?_" Dark snapped angrily.

"_Well... I mean... I don't..._" Iblis stuttered, taken aback again. "_... I just don't want it to end up with us never getting to see each other again..._"

Dark's ears perked up suddenly, and he looked horrified.

"_... No... Not now..._" He whispered, shaking his head slowly. "_... It's just... Why not later..?_"

"_What are you-?_"

"_... Iblis... Just go hide right now..._"

"_I could just try to talk with him..._" The flame protested, but Dark growled lowly in response.

"_No, you can't... He'd never listen to you right now... Not after what he saw you do to me..._"

"_But-_"

"_Please, just... Go hide, Brother... He's really close..._" Dark said in such a desperate way that Iblis didn't have the heart to continue to protest, knowing that Dark was just as worried about him as well.

"_... Fine... But only because you asked me to..._"

* * *

A metal hallway with several scorch marks caught his attention. Mephiles couldn't help but notice how there seemed to be a fist sized dent beneath the soot, and even more so confusing was that the dent was a very similar size to his own fist.

_... It looks like... Fire was thrown there... But... That doesn't make much sense..._ He thought with a small frown. _... And whoever did it must be as tall as me, because of how level the dent is to how level I can punch... But the only one I know who's my height and can punch metal is Dark... But where would the scorching come from..? The only one I know who can do that is... Dead..._

"... I think we're getting closer..." He said aloud, fidgeting with the camera hanging from his neck.

"This doesn't seem like much of an area for containment cells... Are you sure..?"

"The link feels more in tune the more we go this way... I'm almost positive now..."

"Almost..?"

"... I always leave room for error..." The hedgehog admitted sheepishly. "... I always expect for something else to happen and-!" He cut himself off suddenly, before looking as though he was getting upset. "... I need to find him soon... All that bad energy I can hear is enough to drive anyone crazy..."

"I don't hear anything..." Tails said.

"... It's not like hearing with the ears... It's like... Well..." Mephiles tried to explain the best he could. "... It's like that voice you hear in your head when you're thinking... But instead if words... It's... It's hard to describe... I don't even know how it works, just that it does, and I never questioned it..."

They continued down the hall, not once encountering a thing, as almost all the robots were summoned to assist in stopping Sonic. They were able to reach a set of stairs, to which Mephiles understood immediately as to why Dark could have been kept here so easily... He knew very well of Dark's fear of stairs, even if Dark never admitted it to him. It just seemed like a logical conclusion, considering how horrifying that night had been for him.

He quickly moved down it and found a door in the shirt hallway at the bottom. Pressing his ear against it, he could hear what sounded unmistakably like Dark's voice. No doubt about it. He didn't care who Dark might have been talking to or what about... only that he had finally gotten this far and finally found him again. If there was someone there... He's be willing to have to fight them if it meant getting Dark out...

Without much of a plan, he finally decided to shove the door open and found the room to be something resembling a hospital room. As far as he could tell, there was only one person there. Dark, who was sitting on the floor, back against a side table.

Dark froze and looked at him with the most wide eyed expressions Mephiles had ever seen on him. He looked both scared and happy at the same time, but so conflicted that he couldn't decide on what to be.

"Dark! Oh my-! I didn't think I'd-! I... I found you!" Mephiles was stammering, unable to speak clearly as he had no idea how he should have spoken after such a long time of being separated. He rushed forward and threw his arms around the shadow, squeezing him as gently but firmly as he could, having seen how frail Dark looked and was afraid of hurting him. "Oh Chaos! You would not believe the places I've been to trying to get here just to find you! Are you alright? You look thinner! They haven't tried starving you, have they? You look like you haven't slept in weeks! What happened to your quills? You don't feel very grimy, so they must be letting you clean your fur! We can fix all that when we get home!"

Dark didn't speak until the hedgehog was finished rattling off all he had, and the shadow waited for a few minutes before saying in a low, scared, cracked voice: "_... I thought you were dead..._"

Mephiles blinked and pulled away just enough to look at him.

"... I... It's my fault for getting in the way... I knew you must have assumed the worse after I was knocked out..."

"_... For most of the time here... I was sure that robot had left you for dead..._" Dark looked like he was trying to keep himself from crying in front of Mephiles, but was failing miserably. He sniffled, and bit his lower lip before adding: "_... I kept th-thinking that it was my f-fault because I didn't listen t-to you when you said you d-didn't want to go in that alley..._"

"It wasn't your fault, Dark..." Mephiles tried to reassure him, sniffling as well. "... Oh, geeze... You look so frail... Haven't you been fed at all?"

"_... Yes... I just chose to ignore it..._" Dark was avoiding eye contact.

"What? Why?" Mephiles didn't exactly have to shout to make that sound just as much the same effect as far as being shocked sounded.

"_... I thought you were dead..._" Dark said again before elaborating further. "_... I thought no one else would be looking for me besides you, and saw not much purpose for... Well... You get the idea, don't you..?_"

"... Shadow and Rouge reported us both missing, you know." Mephiles wiped at one eye before continuing. "Not just me. That means that-"

"_What!_" Dark almost squawked, not sounding even the slightest bit comforted by the idea. "_I don't want certain people to know about me! What if they find out that I'm part of the Scepter, which is currently property of GUN and puts me as-!_"

"No one would know unless you tell them..." Mephiles felt all the paranoia Dark had about that thought, and shuddered from it. "The point is, they're worried about you too."

"_Stop lying! You know Shadow hates me!_"

"But you know that he-"

"_And stop trying to speak for him! I'm not buying it unless he says so himself! And even then, I'm sure I'm not believing it!_"

Mephiles forced himself not to smile slightly from that, as he knew it was simply one of Dark's ways to get out of having to say something nice about Shadow.

"... Let's just go home now, okay?"

"_... I can't..._" Dark said in a quiet voice, looking at the floor as he pushed away.

"What?" Mephiles hadn't expected that. "... Why not?"

"_... Dire's still there..._"

"That little monster?"

"_... Yes..._" Dark's ears folded back. "_... That Human was supposed to be trying to find a way to extract him... Why and for what, I didn't bother to ask..._"

"Well, I've got this camera thing." Mephiles held it up between them, taking the strap and pulling it over his head to hold it out to Dark. "I've seen it work... It flashes a light in the face of a person being tormented by one of those things, and pulls them out..."

"_... How bright is that light..?_"

"I'm not gonna lie..." Mephiles smiled nervously. "... It'll probably blind you for a few minutes, maybe more... I know you don't like bright lights, but this way works really well!"

"_... And what happens to the creature afterwards...?_"

"Oh, I think you'd like this part: you just beat it up and it goes away forever after that! It can't get you anymore!" Mephiles explained excitedly. "Isn't that great! You won't have to worry about it any longer, and it can't give you nightmares or play mind games with you after that!" Mephiles then realized Dark seemed to be glaring slightly to the area behind the hedgehog. "... W-what..?"

He looked behind him and saw Tails standing in the doorway, having decided to see how things were going so far.

"_And who is_ that?" Dark was now narrowing his eyes at Mephiles, who flinched, knowing that Dark wasn't happy about seeing another new face.

"... Th-that's Tails..." The hedgehog tried to explain, gaining that stammer he got when he knew Dark was mad. "... H-he's one of th-the one's who helped me f-find you..."

"_And just what does 'Tails' know about me?_" Dark growled. "_What did you tell him, huh? What did you say to him about me?_"

"... D-Dark, please... I d-didn't say anything that was personal..." Mephiles folded his ears back as well, but from fear. "... He's a f-friend..."

"_Oh, so you_ have_ been making friends while I've been going mad from worry about you!_" Dark snapped back, bristling his thinned quills. "_Well, that's just great to hear, that you've been having fun while I've been rotting from a broken heart here!_" Dark's eyes were tearing up despite the fierce look he held in them. "_How much of a hurry were you in to get here, for that matter!_"

"I tried as fast as I could!"

"_Then why did it take well over a month and a half to get here! I don't even know if it's Wednesday or if it's daytime or what!_" Dark barked.

"Hey! Leave him alone! He really did try!" Tails interjected, with Mephiles giving him the most horrified look he had seen on him yet.

"Why is it that everyone tries to reason with him! _I'm the only one who can do that!_" The hedgehog wailed at the top of his voice, holding both hands to his face after yanking at his own ears. "You'll just set him off further!"

"_Stop telling everyone what's wrong with me!_"

Before Mephiles could really process what had happened next, he soon found himself backed into a wall, with an extremely infuriated Dark having done so. His tail curled between his legs and he shakily held up the camera to try and set the flash to go off, hoping Dark was only acting this way because of the Dark Gaia creature inhabiting his mind.

The camera was slapped out of his hands, and hit the ground, making the flash go off, but not in the right direction.

"... Oh, cr-crud..." Mephiles squeaked in a terrified voice before managing to shout out to Tails: "Get away from here, now!"

"But he's-!"

"He's mad because he s-saw you and I said we were f-friends!" Mephiles shouted, not taking his eyes off Dark. "He's very protective about me and-!"

"_Oh, sure! Just tell everyone about how I don't like to share you!_" Dark had Mephiles' means of escape blocked off by having both arms braced on either side of him on the wall. "_It's a very simple reason, really! I can't see why no one understands it! You're my hedgehog, mine! I saw you first! I've known you the longest! Why is it that no one else sees that and wants to take you from me!_"

"... D-Dark... Please calm d-down... It's not what you th-think it is..." Mephiles tried to reason with him, tears starting to slide down his face. "... I know you're angry... And you've b-been hurt so much d-during this whole ordeal... B-but no one is tr-trying to take me f-from you or whatever you're sc-scared of..."

Dark slammed a hand down on the nearby side table, causing Mephiles to flinch. He swiped up a crinkled piece of printed paper, and held it up just inches from the hedgehog's face.

"_Then who is_ that!" He shouted, making sure Mephiles could see who he was referring to. "_Is he one of your new friends, too!_"

"T-Trust me, it's not what you th-think..." Mephiles held his hands up to hide behind them, anticipating a strike to the face.

"_Answer the question!_" Dark snapped back, throwing the paper aside. "_What are you doing with people we don't know!_"

"I was with them because th-they were the ones who found me in th-the alley after we got attacked!" Mephiles shouted shrilly, quickly turning his head away so he could he quick to shield himself if Dark decided that warranted a hit to the face. "All I know is th-that after we got s-separated, I woke up with th-them and my head was bandaged!"

He sniffled and cringed, waiting for the next set of accusations and angry shouts to come, but surprisingly, they didn't.

He blinked and lifted his head to see Dark simply standing there with a stunned look touching his wide eyes, fingers (not claws!) lightly dragging down his cheeks as his eyes darted around, trying to avoid staring Mephiles directly in his own eyes.

"_... I-I'm s-sorry... I've... I sh-shouldn't have gone off like th-that..._" He apologized quickly, shaking his head lightly, taking a step back as he babbled. "_... I just... I-it's been an absolute _nightmare_ lately, and... and... I've hardly b-been able to sleep... I've already b-been ill enough times, I even l-lost my voice f-for a week... And... And my migraines came b-back... And D-Dire... He's been relentless... And... I know it's no excuse, b-but... I..._" Dark was fading into incoherence as he continued.

Mephiles shifted his ears down just a little as he listened, before tentatively reaching a hand out to touch his shoulder, Dark jumping slightly before looking up at him. Mephiles raised his other hand as well, hesitating as he waited for Dark to nod in approval before he tried to hug him again.

"Nothing is going to be able to take me from you..." He assured the shadow.

"_... It's such a vague concept... You know that 'never' is such a broad term to use, when there's much room for possible contradictions..._"

"... What in the what now?"

"_... Mephiles..?_"

"... You're using my full name..." The hedgehog noted with a slight bit of dread, pulling away a little. "... You only do that when things are about to get all serious all of a sudden..."

"_... I have this horrible feeling that you're going to be hurt before we get out of here..._" Dark said, dropping his gaze to the ground. "_... It's been haunting me for the past two weeks..._"

"... And it's haunting you because..?"

"_... I think Dire is going to do something..._" Dark didn't look up. "_... If th-that does happen... Please don't hold back because you d-don't want to hurt me..._"

"... I don't like where this is going..."


	50. Aaaaand we're getting there

"_Nor do I..._" Dark agreed wearily.

"What's around your neck..?" Mephiles frowned once he saw the collar. "... Wait... I think I've seen that thing before... Is that a shock collar!" He shouted suddenly as he reached for it instinctively to try and remove it, knowing that Dark's crystals conducted electricity just as much as his did.

Dark gasped and slapped his hand back before Mephiles' fingertips could brush against it.

"DON'T TOUCH IT!" Dark half shrieked in a fearful tone, momentarily dropping his growl. "_If you even pull on  
It, I get zapped!_"

"All the more reason to get it off!"

"_No! You don't understand! It's also regulating my core body temperature!_" Dark shook his head and stepped back a step. "_If you take it off, I'll go into hyperthermia because of how close we are to the planet's core!_"

"Okay, explain that in a way I can understand, because I don't know what you mean by that!"

"_Oh, for the love of-! I'm a shadow, and because my natural element is opposite to fire, my core body temperature is several degrees lower than someone like you!_" Dark could have sworn he said that before. "_That's why I'm more resistant to cold... But I'm very vulnerable to heat... I'll suffer heatstroke long before you would if nothing is done to counter it._ That's_ why I'm not eager to get it off!_"

"... I guess that makes sense..." Mephiles admitted, pulling his hand back. "... Geeze, what are we going to do when Summer comes around..? That's three months of killer heat for you..."

"_... Air conditioning in a controlled environment should suffice unless we can just keep this thing, and take out the shocky part..._" Dark muttered as an afterthought.

Mephiles looked around the room briefly, taking in it's set up.

"Have you been here all by yourself the whole time..?"

"_... I was actually in a smaller cell at first, but I kept getting hurt, and got moved here after I got sick and sprained my wrist from... Fell on it wrong..._" Dark half lied, not wanting to explain his self destructive streak he had during his time here, knowing Mephiles was going to be upset about that.

"... Which wrist? When was that? Does it still hurt?" The hedgehog asked quickly, feeling bad that Dark had been injured and he wasn't there to help him recover.

Dark smiled slightly.

"_... Not anymore... It was just a sprain, so it only took a couple weeks to heal..._"

_... As thin as his wrists are... It's a wonder they didn't just break from landing on it wrong..._Mephiles thought to himself sadly, quickly looking at Dark's state, realizing that he looked just as sickly as he had done after the previous ordeal, if not a little worse.

An uneven, thin quill clump failed to cover a small balding patch. The darkness under his eyes seemed, if even possible, more prominent, making his insomnia look as though it had progressed to downright sleep deprivation. There was a listless, almost dead look behind his eyes. The small smile he had managed was empty, a transparent attempt to mask over how utterly helpless and insignificant he felt.

Seeing Dark reduced to such a broken state never settled well with Mephiles, who fought back tears that stung at his eyes.

_... I should have been here sooner..._ That thought haunted him to no means. _... Chaos... I can almost see Ceus right there, right now..._

His brother, younger by mere minutes, born with a dormant illness that was slowly deteriorating his muscle control throughout his short life, starting with his back legs, which would wobble and cause his feet to lose traction more often then not... And yet, he would still manage a small smile when asked if he was alright.

Mephiles often found himself wondering nowadays, because Ceus was born with Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome, if he as well had the disease dormant as well or if he were simply a carrier to it, never to be affected, but carrying the chance that if he ever had his own kids when he was much older, one may suffer from what his brother had. To be born with it meant it had to be genetic, right..?

He couldn't help but see vague similarities between Dark and Ceus as of recent. Both were the youngest of multiplies (Dark being a twin, and Ceus being a triplet of a small litter of hoglets...), had been bullied by their older brother for shortcomings they had no control over, both would deny being hurt in anyway, and both had genetic mutations that resulted in some form of illness, Ceus obviously having WHS which had set in some time after the hoglets were weened, and Dark having a crosswired brain that would cause his mood to swing at the drop of a hat, as well as his insomnia and migraines, and everything else that made Dark such a pessimistic, paranoid and tormented soul.

"_... It hasn't been completely horrible here..._" Dark forced a short, almost false sounding laugh, as if he truly thought Mephiles wouldn't see right through it. "_... It's difficult to explain right now... But... I've made a friend here..._"

"... Oh..?" Mephiles couldn't see how, as the room seemed otherwise deserted save for the two hedgehogs and the bystander fox standing just inside the door, having decided to let the two have their time while he kept an ear out for the possible returning robots. "... Was he nice..?" Mephiles wasn't sure how to ask, as he was half sure Dark might have hallucinated it as well, having gone through what he was and that the action had been somewhat frequent prior to the separation.

"_... He was very helpful when I was sick... But it was obvious that he was very awkward about helping me, because he wasn't sure how I'd react to it..._" Dark nodded faintly, scratching behind his ear. "_... He's a hedgehog as well... Asked me to call him 'Shu'... Met him on the first day..._"

"... Where is he now..?"

Dark shrugged.

"_... Probably hiding... He does that when there's other people around..._"

Mephiles blinked.

"... Dark... Don't get mad at me for asking..." He said slowly, dreading the reaction. "... But are you sure he was..?" He let the sentence die, but Dark knew what he meant.

Strangely, Dark snorted in amusement.

"_... I wondered the same thing after a while..._" He admitted, half closing his eyes. "_... The fact that he seemed interested in helping me, and that he seemed to disappear when someone showed up to check on me... But then it got hard to explain certain things happening as wether or not it was all in my head..._"

"Such as..?"

"_You don't believe me, do you..?_"

The fact that Dark had said that almost playfully threw Mephiles for a loop.

"... I believe you when you say that you saw something happen..."

"_... Well, then..._" Dark smiled faintly again., before continuing "_... Those stairs... I almost fell down them trying to escape sometime ago..._" Dark half lied. "_... I got frozen with fear halfway up, and lost my footing... And he caught me before I got hurt... I couldn't move beyond where I was at because of how scared I was of the steps, so he helped me get back down and back into the room..._"

"Wait... I know that the stairs would have been a way to keep you down here..." Mephiles pointed out. "... But he could have easily left by himself... Why would he have chosen to look after you if you hardly know him..?"

"_... Said I reminded him of someone he really disappointed once..._" Dark said before slowly becoming aware of a dizzy feeling starting up in his head, with sinus pressure building up.

Then everything went black.

* * *

"Oh, how I wish I could have figured this out sooner!" A familiar and not at all welcomed shrill voice became the first he heard when his senses returned in a sluggish crawl.

The first thing he noticed afterwards was that he was laying on his side on the black ground, and something neon was in his blurred vision. Squinting to try and focus, he could see Dire in his true form, presumably to be on level with Dark easily. The creature was almost bouncing from one foot to the other in excitement.

Dark tried to lift his hand to rub against his sore, confused head, but something happened that startled his brain into overdrive.

He couldn't move it. Nor the other. He swung his gaze downward quickly and found that dark energy bound his wrists to the ground, forcing him to not even be able to stand on his feet.

"WHAT THE-! OH, GOD, NO!" He shrieked, fighting against them as forcefully as he could, memories of the vision he has earlier about being bound in restraints flooding back faster than a tsunami. "LET ME GO! DON'T DO THIS! PLEASE STOP!"

"I heard that you were plotting to get rid of me... Now why would you want to do that, hmm, Dark?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE A SADISTIC LITTLE MONSTER!" Dark forced himself into a slumped sitting position the best he could from his restraints, continuing to scream out. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS! WHAT DID I EVER DO TO DESERVE WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME!"

"If you weren't such a sour soul, I would have never even been interested in you..." Dire cooed mockingly, twitching his tiny clawed toes as he leaned into Dark's face, pinkish purple eyes glinting. "You brought this on yourself by having such negative emotions to begin with."

Having no other way to do anything else, Dark protested by hocking and spitting on Dire... Which enraged the goofy looking reptilian creature enough that in a flash, he bit down on Dark's left, completely intact, ear, holding his teeth at the base.

"... How about if I make it match the other..? Or even take the whole thing off..?" He growled menacingly, pulling just enough to stretch the ear flap, which caused Dark to start breathing quickly and unevenly, whimpering and sniffling as tears started to form in his eyes. "... Geeze, you act like you've never lost part of your ear before..."

"_... P-please don't hurt me... Don't... No... No..._" Dark was starting to babble, voice cracking as he shuddered. "_... Oh, Chaos, no... Don't..._"

Dire unlatched his teeth from Dark's ear, letting Dark just flop face first to the ground.

"... Oh, I have something even better planned." Dire trilled excitedly. "Something that's going to let me feed off all the misery you can make at once."

With his head down, Dire couldn't see Dark's face paling into a sickly off white shade, as Dark had an idea as to what he meant...

Lifting his head just enough to see, he found that Dire had taken on the identical form now, laying on his stomach with his head propped up by a hand, the other idly twiddling his fingers in the air, the amused look on his face only sickening Dark further.

"Now, now... Don't be so bummed about it..." He reached over to put his hand under Dark's chin and force him to look at him completely. "I'm not going to leave you wondering about what's going on... You'll get the play by play, really."

"_... If you harm so much as one hair on him..._"

Dire laughed coldly, drowning out the rest if the threat.

"I don't think you're in much of a position to demand anything, much less make threats, buddy." Dire bared his teeth in an insane looking grin before shifting his grip on Dark's head to the side and shoving it down on the ground, holding it in place on it's side. "Of course, I guess that's just how you are: always wanting what you can't have. You just won't accept your place in the universe." Dire scoffed before leaning into his ear. "Darkness should be feared and hated; it's where the nightmares hide. It's what corrupts innocent minds when they have nothing else to turn to. Darkness doesn't help things grow. It doesn't give warmth and it doesn't give light!"

Trying to catch his breath to try and speak, already scared to when air started to seem thick... Dark tried to counter.

"_... Darkness cannot exist without light..._" He said in a low voice, squeezing his eyes shut. "_... There is a balance th-that must be maintained... Light isn't always good, and darkness isn't always bad..._"

"A balance, huh? So what went wrong with your brother and you, then?" Dire snorted, smirking wildly. "You two should be textbook examples of Fire and Shadows, Light and Darkness, Day and Night."

"_... N-not everything is so Black and White..._" Dark whispered breathlessly, opening one eye as Dire continued to hold him down. "_... It c-can be so easy to forget that th-there is a Gray area... Something that blends, binds them, or holds the others together like a glue..._"

"Cute. And I suppose you're going to say the Gray area is that hedgehog you care so much about?" Dire mocked him, lifting his hand off Dark's face. "Let me let you in on a spoiler warning: that kid is a Pure Soul. He's pretty much as Light as you get. His heart is so open, that it's closed off to Darkness. I know: I tried him first, and hit a brick wall before he even knew I was trying... But you, on the other hand... It's very much the opposite. So closed off that you all but left the key under the doormat with a note saying 'Come on in'! You want to say that a Dark Heart isn't bad... But then how did I get in?"

"_... Liar..._"

"Your name is even 'Dark'."

"_... Names are just names..._"

"You picked it yourself."

"_..._"

"Your silence speaks so much." Dire smirked, leaning to where his nose was just a finger width away. "It's funny, really. You say more when you don't, and you say nothing when you speak. You're so backwards that-!"

Dark lunged forward, aiming for Dire's nose, but Dire simply flicked a wrist and Dark felt something slam into the side of his head, knocking him down once more.

"Did you honestly think that you could catch me off guard like that?" Dire shook his head in a mock scolding tone as he rolled onto his back, grinning. "Man, you're a living embodiment of a shadow... And I can control those. I could practically make a puppet out of you... Luckily for you, marionettes are just not my thing... The brain is SO much more a satisfying challenge..."

"_... Why is this happening to me..?_" Dark whispered, mostly to himself, gritting his teeth.

Dire didn't answer that, but simply grabbed Dark's wrists, undid the the restraints and pulled his limp form towards the terrarium that housed Krad, who simply sat on the floor of it and watched with an indifferent look. Once Dark realized that he was being pulled in that direction, he screamed and fought back the best he could, but Dire didn't even falter.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING! LET ME GO!" Dark screeched, lifting his foot to kick him as Dire pinned either wrist to the outer tank wall above Dark's head, and conjured up the shadow restraints once again, leaving Dark basically shackled to the wall, but still sitting on the floor. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!"

"I can, and I believe I just did." Dire smirked once more, playfully prodding Dark's nose, causing the shadow to flinch at the touch.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH ME!" Dark snarled back, kicking his feet wildly in Dire's direction. "YOU'RE A MONSTER! YOU TORTURE KIDS AND YOU ONLY HARASS ME WHEN YOU'VE GOT ME RESTRAINED OR WHEN I CAN'T FIGHT BACK!"

"Oh, Dark! You finally admitted your age! Good for you!" Dire clapped excitedly, then held his hand up to offer a high five, but pulled back in false awkwardness. "Oh, right... You've got your hands tied at the moment."

"AUUUUUGH!" Dark screamed in frustration before dissolving into a series of howls and shrieks, kicking and flailing as much as he could. This persisted for several minutes before he began to wail uncontrollably in tears, bringing his foot down one last time forcibly, and dropping his head in defeat.

"Oh, now where was that sort of bravado earlier?" Dire pulled Dark's head up.

"_... S-stop... Stop t-trying to b-break me..._"

Dire snickered before bursting into laughter, catching his breath and snorting before saying: "I'll be honest, there wasn't much to work with... In fact, I'm amazed that you lasted this long. You might have had a chance, if you weren't already mangled to begin with."

"_... You s-stay away from him..._"

"Oh, don't worry... I can't do to him what I did to you..." Dire bit back a smirk. "Besides, what fun would I have if I killed him...? He can't be scared if I do."

Dark's head was let go and dropped down again. Dark made no effort to lift it or anything, having been worn to his limit by now. His eyes blinked repeatedly, trying to clear the tears that blurred them, his nose dribbling as what ran down his face did so, dripping onto his chest fur. He shuddered, out of breath, only managing a low moan of misery.

"Well, it's been fun, but you've really reached the end of your playability..."

_... No... Mephy... I'm sorry..._

* * *

"Tails! Get me a damp towel or something like it!" Mephiles shouted over his shoulder at the fox. "He's completely out of it!"

Mephiles was cradling Dark's limp body in his arms, touching a hand to his forehead. Dark didn't have a fever, it seemed, but it was the first thing he could think of.

"Make sure it's warm water!" Mephiles added, not liking the cold he had felt when he touched the shadow's pale face. "But not too hot! He can't stand hot!"

Tails had gotten an unused pillowcase off one of the other beds to use, as washcloths and towels seemed to be scarce here. Mephiles thanked him and grabbed it, daubing Dark's face gently, not sure of what else to do.

_... Why did this happen..?_ Mephiles' nerves felt shot, trying to read what he could from Dark. _... I know he was already getting weak, but... Oh, Chaos... He's so thin, right now... How is that even possible..?_

"Is he gonna be okay..?" Tails was cautious, having not really liked how snappish (perhaps an understatement) Dark had been once he set eyes on the fox.

He remembered vaguely at one point seeing Dark prior to this... Was it when he and Sonic had picked up the Chaos Emeralds from Shadow and Rouge's place...? He was quite certain Mephiles had been the one to hand them the Emeralds... Dark must have been the scraggily one hiding in the kitchen, eyes peering around the edge of the doorway, clutching what must have been a cat. Even then, he seemed wary of new faces...

"... I... I really don't know..." Mephiles bit his lip, still watching Dark closely. "... Th-this is one of the worst I've seen him... Next t-to when he almost..." Mephiles left that sentence hanging, not wanting to be reminded of that any moment further... He still had nightmares about that, even.

"Don't you have healing powers?" Tails offered, having looked at his own hand for moment and remembered the healed wound. "Can't you use them?"

"I can't heal sicknesses, just injuries and pain!" Mephiles snapped more than he intended, having long grown tired of people asking if he was able to. He folded his ears back, looking at Tails apologetically. "... S-sorry, but there's a limit to that p-power... Sickness is another m-matter entirely. Whatever he has... It's out of my ability t-to fix..." He looked back at Dark. "... I'm sh-sure it's got everything t-to do with that little monster... Ever s-since that th-thing got him, Dark's been... well, Dark _was _d-doing much better before that happened... We were making p-progress..."

"Wait... Progress on what?"

Mephiles knew he had already said too much. He tended to do that whenever he was facing a stressful and horrifying situation. But... He really had no idea what he could do now, besides trying to tend to Dark as was...

"... A few months ago... S-something really bad happened to him..." Mephiles tried to explain as simply as he could. "... I th-think I mentioned something about it before... But, see... D-Dark had... an accident. No, it wasn't an accident. S-someone wanted to hurt him... Hurt him really b-bad. They tr-tried to use me to do it, and f-forced him to play along, t-told him not to t-tell anyone. Especially me..." Mephiles felt his nose start to dribble, so he sniffled. "... He didn't d-do it. He t-tried to tell us by d-dropping hints, and eventually managed to t-tell Rouge. The one who wanted to hurt him f-found out... G-Got him in th-the night..." Mephiles tried not to let his voice crack, and intended on not saying how Dark had been hurt with Mephiles' own claws. "... I f-found him shortly after, and I th-thought he was actually d-dead... His heart s-stopped at least once f-from th-the blood loss..."

"... Is that why he's so distrusting about anyone besides you..?"

"... P-Partly." Mephiles hoped his face wasn't saturated in tears by now. "... Th-that s-same night, th-the same person who hurt him t-tried s-something even worse... D-Dark still tried to explain what was g-going on, and he g-got thrown d-down the st-stairs f-for th-that..."

"... You're kidding..."

"N-not about s-something like th-that..." Mephiles sniffled again. "... Th-there's a p-permanent crack in his skull now b-because of th-that... He has t-terrible migraines f-from it, and s-some memory problems... Th-that got better, a little, b-but for a while, h-he couldn't remember how t-to use his p-powers, or how h-he acted normally..." Mephiles shook his head carefully. "... Th-that was really the f-first time he t-tried to tr-trust someone other than me... He's n-now convinced th-that everything new is here t-to hurt us, or t-take us away fr-from each other... He's never s-said it directly, b-but I f-feel it every time he notices s-someone else..."

"... And this time he's spent being away from you probably didn't help matters much..."

Mephiles nodded in agreement, still watching Dark closely.

"... That... Thing that's t-tormenting him didn't help either..." He added, holding the dampened cloth to the shadow's cheek. "... It's g-got Dark where he can f-feel like he's trapped f-for hours, when it's really m-minutes here..."

Mephiles fingers brushed against Dark's forehead and he quickly withdrew them when he felt a strange and powerful surge spark through them, making the tips twinge.

_What was that! That's never happened before! _Mephiles was wide eyed and shaken, staring at his fingertips with fearful curiosity.

He was so intrigued by that brief reaction, perplexed as to what had caused it... That he didn't see the one in his arm's eyes open. He didn't see the smirk spread onto the face slowly, nor did he see the hand ready itself to strike...

But Tails did.

"Hey! Look out!"

Mephiles' wide eyes rounded and his ears perked up quickly as he shoved the one in his arms away, having sensed at that moment a spurt of energy that was completely unfamiliar to him, narrowly missing the possibility of a piece of his nose being clipped off in a swipe.

Before the thinner form picked itself up off the floor to stare at him, Mephiles knew right away something was wrong. He didn't need to see the eyes to know for sure...

"What did you do to Dark!" He shouted, scrambling to a defensive stance, bristling his quills as he did.

"... You're quick to catch on... How did you know..? You didn't even see my eyes..."

The voice was higher than his own, and easily ten times colder.

Mephiles clenched his teeth, watching closely.

"When you've been around someone long enough, there's other ways to tell when something's wrong!" The hedgehog growled, motioning for Tails to stay away. "First, your posture is all wrong! Second, the voice is nowhere near! Third, Dark would never try to strike me for no reason! And last! Your energy feels NOTHING like his!"

"... I suppose that's not very remarkable, anyone could have gotten that right..." The other one scoffed, lifting his head and reveling that his irises were some sort of purple-pink, much like the neon creatures Mephiles had seen at night. He frowned. "Let's be a bit more formal before I decide what to do with you... My name is Dire, not Little Monster, Little Beast, That Thing, or Creature. Dire, as in what kind of situation you're in right now, or how much need of help you'll require when I'm finished." Dire grinned widely, eyes wild with anticipation. "And you must be..?"

"I'm not listening to anything you say! You're a monster!"

"I believe you must be 'Mephy'..." Dire ignored him, tapping a finger to his head in thought. "... Yes, I'm sure of it... Dark thinks very highly of you... Thinks you're here to rescue him..."

"I am!"

"Did you know he was starting to doubt that for some time..?" Dire's smirk returned, stepping to the hedgehog, who stepped back into a wall. "Started to realize that if you never came, no one else would care to find him..."

Mephiles snapped and lunged forward, but Dire caught both wrists with one hand. He continued as if nothing happened.

"He blamed himself for what happened to you, you know. He was convinced that you had died right then and there, and that he deserved everything he got for being so careless with you..." Dire smiled the small smile he got when being borderline mischievous. "... Would you like to know how many times he slammed his head into a wall trying not think to about it? Or how many times he had gotten so broken from thinking about it, that he reached for this collar to shock himself into unconsciousness? How about how long he refused to eat, to where he had to have a needle stuck in his arm, putting stuff in him to keep him alive? Maybe the nightmares he had about you dying in his arms?"

He let the hedgehog pull away sharply, letting go of his wrists to watch him stumble back, slip and hit the ground, sitting and looking up in a slight daze, but eyes still narrowed.

"See, the thing is... He thinks _you'll_be the one to stop me and save him." Dire scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I can't see how that's going to pan out, as you're nothing but a child yourself... A hedgehog. Hardly even Mobian, really... And you can barely defend yourself, so how he expects you to do all that, I don't know..."

Mephiles got to his feet, looking determined.

"Neither do I, but I'm going to try!"

"And how do you expect to do that?" Dire didn't seem fazed. "You attack me, and he's going to feel all of it anyway. And you wouldn't want to hurt him, now, do you?" He grinned, enjoying the horrified look on the hedgehog's face. "At how frail and fragile his body is right now, you might break something... Has he ever had a broken bone before? Does he know what that's like, and what to expect?"

The purplish glow that usually emanated from Mephiles' eyes during a power flair up came to view and the hedgehog raised both his hands quickly, summoning up a bubble shield between them.

"Oh, how cute! And how long are you going to be able to keep that up?"

"As long as I need to!"

"I think you're overestimating yourself, kid."

* * *

"Oh, would you just SHUT UP!"

**WHAM!**

Dark flinched terribly at the sound of Krad hitting the edge of his fist against the tank wall behind the shadow, having grown irritated at Dark's whimpers and snuffling. being that he couldn't really see him, and just _knowing _Krad was directly behind him with only a thin barrier between them did nothing to comfort him.

"Of all the places to lock you down, and it just _had_ to be against _my _tank!" Krad snapped, not seeing Dark squeeze his eyes shut, trying to ignore him. "Nothing in it but me, the acoustics in here are enough to make your ears bleed when someone KEEPS MAKING SOUNDS AGAINST IT!"

"... St-stop... Stop yelling at m-me..."

"I'll yell at you all I want! It's _your _fault I'm stuck here!" Krad kicked the wall again, making Dark jump in fright. "In fact, this is the most I've spoken in a long time! And do you know who I have to blame for that too!"

"_... I... I-I assume you'll s-say... It's me..?_" Dark answered meekly, wondering to himself if this was how Mephiles felt when _Dark _had been the tormentor.

"Ding ding ding! We have a winner!" Krad shouted in mock cheering appraisal, clapping his furry, padded, slim, pawlike hands. "Unfortunately, we don't have any teddy bears or goldfish to give away, because this isn't a fair! You get _nothing_, in case you missed the joke there! Nothing!"

"_... Oh, what am I going to do..?_" Dark muttered, hanging his head listlessly.

"Hey! Don't you ignore me, of all people!" Krad snapped at him again. "None of this would have happened if-!"

"_I swear to Chaos, you keep that up, and I'm making some much needed modifications to that tank when we're no longer in a crisis._" Dark lashed back suddenly, causing Krad to pause in surprise.

Krad recovered quickly.

"Of course... Locking away all your troubles, as if they never existed... What a wonderful idea..." The caged one responded sarcastically.

"_Oh my G-! Are you seriously trying to goad me right now!_"

"Why not? You can't walk away from me while I'm talking this time, so I'm going to take advantage of it." Dark was sure Krad was smirking with that tone. "You can't stuff your fingers in your ears to block me out, either. You're practically my captive audience."

"_Oh, dear Chaos... This is_ not_ happening!_" Dark moaned pitifully.


	51. Oh Geeze

"Tails! Get out of here now!" Mephiles shouted to the fox at the door. "Go find Sonic!"

"And leave you alone with _that!_" Tails countered. "Are you outta your mind!"

"No one else knows we're here! If something happens to both of us..." Mephiles trailed off before trying again. "I can handle this! I got my powers from Dark, so I can match up to this better than you!"

"Quite honestly, the fox isn't my target at all..." Dire interrupted casually. "Dark doesn't seem to like him enough for him to be worth going after unless he attacks me. And really, I WILL curb stomp you for that."

"You stay out of this! I don't like you!" Mephiles snapped back, still keeping his shield up.

"Now, what have I done to _you _yet that would make you say that?"

"There's so much wrong in your word choice there that I'm not even gonna dignify that with a response!" Mephiles growled.

* * *

"Hey! Are you listening to me!"

_... Don't answer... You don't have to..._

"I know you can hear me!"

**WHAM!**

"You flinched! I know you're not asleep!"

"_... Would you just leave me alone..?_" Dark droned emotionlessly.

"Why should _you _get what you want?" Krad countered angrily.

"_... Because this is my brain, and I should be allowed the solace in knowing that if should everything else go down the drain... This is the last place anything can reach me..._" Dark lifted his head slightly.

Krad burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter in response.

"Not so long as I still exist! Which should be as long as you!"

Dark hung his head again, sighing dejectedly as he closed his eyes.

_... At least Mephy's still putting up a shield... Can't say how long that'll last, though..._

"_Dark..? Oh, geeze! Dark! What happened!_"

Dark's eyes snapped wide open and he swung his head up to find yet another someone identical to him, kneeling down be level with him, the mangled frames of a pair of glasses balanced on the bridge of his snout, eyes squinting through the broken lenses.

"_... Lo... Logic..?_" Dark stared in disbelief, having recognized the broken glasses right away. "_... What... I... Where have you been this whole time..?_"

"_... I'm sorry, but I tried to-_"

"_I thought you'd abandoned me too..._" Dark blurted out, interrupting him as Logic reached for the restraints, but paused at hearing that. He cringed.

"_... Dark, I've been trying to fight back Dire the whole time..._" He tried to reassure, folding his ears back. "_I'm not so good at fighting, myself... You can probably see what happened to my glasses..._"

"_... Where's your laptop..?_"

"_That little maniac broke it before we even knew he was there._"

"_... 'We'..?_"

"_... I'm going to need help canceling out the energy to free you..._" Logic ignored the question. "_Wait here and keep ignoring Krad._"

"_... Wait... You know _Krad..?"

"Oh, geeze, don't get me started on _this_guy!"

Dark was feeling that tilting sensation when everything started to feel disconnected, once again. Nothing made sense anymore, it seemed...

Logic squinted a bit more and saw that Dark seemed unsteady upon hearing that.

"_Oh my... I was afraid of that..._" He said in a low tone, almost as if noting it to himself. He said a little louder, moving his hand in front of Dark's face to make him follow it with his eyes: "_Dark, try to stay with me for a moment... Okay..? Dark?_"

"_Hmm..?_"

"_You're fading in and out of awareness..._"

"_... That's nice..._" Dark said in a slightly higher pitched tone, smiling weakly, as if he had been responding to a completely different question. The dragged final syllable and the giggle at the end more or less confirmed how Dark felt about all this: something along the lines of this-has-reached-the-apex-of-mind-screwery for him, and cannot simply get any worse without inducing some aneurysm that results in a nosebleed (as many things like to depict, but honestly, it does not happen that way...).

"_... Um, actually, no it's not..._" Logic cringed. "_To be honest, you're really starting to worry me..._"

* * *

"Oh, I don't think so!"

Being caught by the quills before he could reach the camera, Mephiles was roughly thrown against the wall, having the quick forethought to shield his head with his arms, not wanting to be knocked out right away like he had been last time he had been thrown head first into a wall.

"Hey, at least you had the mind to protect that thick skull of yours, this time, you spiky little rat!" Dire tossed at him as the hedgehog uncurled from the ground he had slid to.

"I am NOT a rat!" Mephiles shouted back, bristling his quills. I'm sure it's safe to say now that it's common knowledge that calling him such a rodent name is a surefire way to provoke him now, as seems to be a common happening, oddly enough. "Honestly! What's wrong with everyone! What part about me looks like a rat! My ears aren't round! My teeth don't keep growing! My tail is furry! I'm even allergic to cheese! What on Chaos' Green Hills of Mobi-!"

In the midst of what I'm sure would have been a somewhat clever localization of a term we use, put into this world... Mephiles was kicked and forced further to the ground, curling up again defensively.

"It's like you're not even trying to fight back!" Dire shouted in disappointment. "Geeze! Dark wasn't kidding when he said that you're not a fighter! You seriously DO NOT even try to, even when your life and the lives of those you care about are in jeopardy! You just curl up into a little ball and hide!" He kicked again, this time causing the hedge-ball to roll a little. "For such a huge build up about how you're going to come here and save him... You've so far amounted to nothing more than an anticlimactic letdown! I am LITERALLY just pushing you around! I think the ball related puns are so abound right now, that it's be a twist to NOT indulge at the moment!"

Mephiles didn't respond.

"What? First time taking the hero role for a spin? Not having a ball? Can't just roll with it? It's too late to just bounce, now! Hah! No one would even get that last one anymore!" He gave the hedgehog another shove with his foot, rolling him towards the door.

_... Oh Chaos, this guy is horrible in more ways than one!_ Mephiles unrolled yet again and scrambled backwards into the hall, trying to keep a good distance between them. _It's like he thinks he's as funny as he is irritating! And that's something for me to have to comment on the unlikability of-_"OH DEAR GOD!"

He had taken a moment to glance behind him to see how far he was from the wall before he backed into a corner and looked back to see that Dire was rather close and studying the startled hedgehog with a somewhat mildly baffled expression, rubbing a finger under his ear in thought as if he were truly intrigued with his reaction.

"Honestly, I can't see what's so special about you." He tossed his arms in the air in an overdramatic shrug as Mephiles flinched at the sudden movement, smacking right into the wall behind him. "I mean, granted, you've been extremely lucky until now, have gotten this far, is immune to virtually all forms of corruption, you're fluffy, you've got a bonus on your defensiveness with that crystal coating, and you seem to be a rather understanding little fellow about everything to boot... But! Beyond! That!" He punctuated each word with a shout of it and a quick poke to Mephiles' forehead for each syllable, making the furry crystal mammal twitch and toss his hands up each time to try and shield himself timidly. "You're nothing more than sniveling little blue furball that has to be constantly looked after, and your stupidity has all but actually killed you!"

"... I-I'm not stupid..."

"Well, let's take a little quick count here!" Dire grinned mockingly, tossing his arm around Mephiles' shoulder, making the hedgehog tense up. "Okay, from what I've learned as far as Dark's aware of... Alrighty... Who's fault was it you got caught in an avalanche? Or what about when you jumped in from of a possibly killer robot as if you thought you could actually do something? Or how about now, where you thought taking Dark home was as easy as getting in here and walking the heck out? Lest we forget you sitting in the middle of the street trying to convey some true nature of the heart message or whatever it is you stupid Pure Soul people do, but let's be honest... If someone hadn't been there to bail you out... You'd either would have ended up as a blue popsicle, or a road waffle, or a contribution to the vermillion color of the brick wall your head got slammed into."

Dire shoved him forward, back into the room, causing Mephiles to trip over the camera and onto the floor.

"But, like you're made of rubber or something of the like, you just keep bouncing right back up for another go." The creature continued, obviously enjoying that he was having and edge here. "Which really begs more of the question: 'Why?'" Mephiles scrambled for the other side of the room instinctively. "Yes... I think that's it. Why? Why are you so lucky? Why are you so durable? Why do you get through EVERYthing as if you were ultimately immune to a certain demise, and recover with little to no lasting damage from every nightmare you just lived through!" Dire slammed the door behind him, instantly causing an obstacle on the easiest way out. "And what drives me insane is that I can NEVER find out for myself because your mind, your inner thoughts are untouchable to me! Dark was easy! I could pull him in any direction like putty! There's practically no resistance, and when he did, it never lasted long because all I had to do was prey on just how the two things he actually had any emotional attachment to either up and left him, or he caused their possible early demise out of being a complete idiot thinking his way and only his way was right!"

Mephiles watched with dread as Dire kicked the camera aside, causing it to slide under one of the beds farther away from him.

"I mean, really! He's even more childish than you when it comes down to it! He kicks, he screams, he bites, he spits, he wails until he's got disgusting snot bubbles dribbling out his nose if you manage to show him just how insignificant he really is to everything!" Overexaggerated gesturing abound as if trying to convey how convoluted he thought this was. "I mean, okay, you're friends with a couple of the more well known heroes in this world, and no doubt you'll be noted by several about whatever it is that makes you charming or whatever before the end of your time, and you'll probably have at least one documented importance to this whole crazy wacko chain of events that make up your existence! But what about him? He's tried to kill you before, have you forgotten! You go off about how messing with his head is bad, which this is the second time you've seen this cause such a bad impact on him, but you forget that he did the same thing to you, and you just hand wave it like none of that even mattered and you expect that a formerly unstable lunatic could adjust perfectly to what you call normal! Do you realize that you are possibly the ONLY one willing to try with him!"

Mephiles narrowed his eyes, in a glare still silent.

"Did he slap you around enough times that your brain just got boggled up and maybe you see things in tones and tints of purple now as well, because of how crossed wired they are! What do I sound like to you! I'll never get any insight because you're shielded from me!"

"... You're insane..."

"... Interesting observation..." Dire said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "... I believe that the smartest thing I've heard related to you so far. But I prefer 'too smart for the world around me' as a more fitting term. I mean, I like to think I'm smarter than most of the creatures just like me. I can walk more upright than the rest of them, and I can actually vocalize in my base form... It's rarer than you think... Usually the Red Rexes do that..."

"... Huh... And what kind of Rex are you..?"

"Excuse me, are we playing 'Psychoanalyst' here?" Dire snapped suddenly, making Mephiles flinch again. "Because if we are, I'm quite sure because I'm the one standing right now, I'm the one who's trying to tear minds apart!"

"All you're doing is talking after all!"

"Well, I know that you won't fight back because you're afraid of hurting your precious friend here..." Dire smirked slightly at that. "In fact... I'm quite sure that whatever I try to do to you... You won't try to do anything but take it, because if you try to stop me... You'll hurt Dark somehow..." The smirk deepened. "Oh, and you know what else..? This could go even further... I could make you do what I want by that extension..."

"... H-how..?" Mephiles didn't like that look, at all. He shuddered before he even knew why.

"... Quite simple..." Dire attempted what might have been a purring type tone, but his pitch in his voice distorted it to an odd squeal type tone instead. He scratched behind his ear with one hand before slowly trailing it down to the collar around his neck, watching Mephiles' eyes go wide when the hedgehog pieced together the idea before he heard it explained. "See... I've heard something interesting about what electricity does to people who look like you and him... These crystals before a real curse when that comes into play, don't they..?"

"... You wouldn't..." Mephiles' pupil-less irises shrank a little.

"Why not? I won't feel it for long if I channel it just right!" Dire was snorting. "My tolerance levels won't even be affected because this isn't even my form! Dark on the other hand... It seems that all I have to do is pinch his ear the right way and he just _begs _to be let go!"

Instinctively, Mephiles prepared to attempt a psychic hold type action to try and move the hand away from the collar, eyes gaining a purple tinge as the energy glowed around his half raised hand.

"Ah-ah!" Dire swiftly held his other hand up and waggled a finger disapprovingly. "If you so much as try to stop me by any force, I'll not only break free from it with little to no effort... I'll grab the collar and you at the same time..." He smirked even deeper at the appalled look on the hedgehog's face. "What happens if two electrically conductive hedgehog shaped creatures channel the same voltage? Do you really want to find out?"

Mephiles slowly lowered his hand and glanced at the underside space of the bed that the camera had been kicked under.

"And don't even think about... You won't be able to move fast enough to grab it, load it, aim and shoot before I get to you." Dire added, seeing Mephiles' frantic glance to the device.

"... I... I c-can... People know I'm here!" Mephiles shouted, scooting away from the camera and Dire, trying to regain some ground. "P-people who are... People who'd... Who'd-"

"It took you two months to get here with distractions! Are you sure they'd get here fast enough?"

* * *

Dark was pale, biting down on his lower lip as he rolled his eyes upward, uttering a dragged moan of dread, shaking his head slowly.

He had grown deaf to what Krad was shouting at him for, only now occupied with what he was worried about in regards to Mephiles.

He honestly didn't care what had to be done in order to ensure that Mephiles would defend himself, even if it meant that Dark would have to be injured in the process... After all, he could recover, given enough time and care, so long as it was not lasting. Just enough to temporarily disable his body so that Dire wouldn't be able to harm Mephiles...

He had tried to explain to Mephiles to not hesitate to defend himself should the situation arise, as he completely understood it. However, with Dire tossing in a threat or two as to how he could hurt Dark somewhat severely without any qualms, by taking advantage of his weakness to electrical currents... Mephiles was forced to submit, immediately putting Dark's comfort and safety before his...

_... Probably thinks in my current state... That electricity would stop my heart..._Dark thought miserably, going limp against his restraints.

Another deep inhale, his nose sounding quite stuffed up now, a cough, and a low mumble of: "_... Stupid Hedgehog... Stupid... Selfless... Hedgehog..._"

Not even caring where Logic had gone off to at the moment, as Dark was now at the point where he wasn't even concerned about himself anymore, because all he cared about now was the hedgehog and his safety.

"Knew that kid was nothing but bothersome..." Krad droned, having caught Dark's murmur. "Can't even look after himself, and he's such a wimp... But you just insisted that you befriend the little pincushion, because you were so lonely and heartbroken because your sadistic big brother just dumped you on the ground and split..."

"_... Shut up..._" Dark growled warningly, having heard the mocking undertone in the voice. "_... Just shut up... You have no right to-_"

"Are you _still_trying to defend what Iblis did to you?" Krad shouted in annoyance, sounding strangely exasperated. "You can't be that thick in the skull... The crack in it proves that much. Really, I can't see why you don't trust me... I've never attempted even half of what he's done. In fact, I'm downright tame compared to some of what he's pulled..."

"_... I said shut up..._" Dark's voice dropped another pitch, sounding as if it had gotten caught in his throat.

"Let's see... There's the often cited obvious ones, if your visible scarring can be simply all I need to comment on..."

"_... Stop it..._"

"Then there's dislocating your shoulder just for the heck of it... Trying to smother you in your sleep... Poisoning-" He said that one with more emphasis. "-Yes, poisoning Mephy Boy because that was the only way to get to you-"

"_Don't call him 'Mephy Boy'!_" Dark lashed out angrily, obviously riled up even more than usual over that.

"Why not? That's what you call him, right?" Krad's voice sounded like he knew well enough otherwise. "Oh, wait... You call him 'Mephy' now... Dropped the last half... What? Felt like it was a little too-?"

Dark let out an enraged scream, slamming his back against the tank wall, causing the terrarium to rock slightly from the force. He heard Krad utter a sound of surprise, and what sounded somewhat like the darker entity losing his footing and falling to the plexiglass floor with a hollow, echoed **WHUMP!**

"... So glad your back is turned to me..."

* * *

Tails jumped out of the air vent on the outside of the base, dropping to the ground and hitting it with a roll. He hardly took a chance to catch his breath before getting up and twisting his furry butt propeller to get himself airborne again, taking off back the way he and Mephiles had come in.

He had decided he had a much better chance at getting to the Tornado and attempting to contact someone with his handheld tablet device he had been carrying around in a satchel under his seat in the plane, rather than try and locate Sonic, as he was sure Sonic could very well be occupied with fighting Eggman at this exact moment.

_I need to get ahold of Shadow and Rouge! They could get GUN over here even! Someone needs to know where we are in case things go horribly wrong!_ He told himself, descending to the lower platform below a hovering lift type one. _Most of the way to the Tornado is going downward in direction... It should take less time and effort to get there than it did to get inside the base!_

In what he could assume was about fifteen minutes or so, he could finally see the entrance where he had left the plane parked. Stopping just at the end of the hall before the exit, he paused just to be able to breathe, because he wanted to be as intelligible with his words as possible. It would be difficult to explain anything if he was only able to babble from exhaustion.

One he had slowed his breathing down enough to be sure, he hurried to the plane and scrambled into the cockpit, reaching for the satchel and pulling out a large screened device that had gripped handles in either of two sides, the shell casing in a yellow-orange color much like his own fur. The Miles Electric.

_'Kay, just gotta boot this thing up, pull up the contacts lists, and find Shadow and Rouge's house number... I would assume that they'd be home first... Work number next..._

When he finally got ahold of them, he initially started to explain what was going on in such a rapid fashion, that neither of them got what he was trying to say.

"Hey, slow down! Is this Tails?" Shadow's voice spoke over him from the other end.

"Yes! You guys need to get over here soon, or get GUN or something!"

"... Over where..?"

"Eggman's new base, Eggmanland! It's the only piece of planet that's still not locked in!"

"... Why? What's going on?" Rouge's voice sounded into the conversation.

"Long story short..." Tails inhaled deeply before attempting to say it all in one breath, trying to not waste much time. "We found the last temple, Sonic's busy fighting Eggman, we found Mephiles' brother, something freaky happened (I dunno!), and I guess Dark's not Dark and Mephiles said go find help, and I went back to the Tornado to call you guys because you need to know where Mephiles is, and we all need to have a back up plan if something goes really really wrong, and you guys work for GUN, so you've got resources to get here fast and-"

"Whataminute, stop!" Shadow interjected. "Back it up a moment! What do you mean 'Dark's not Dark'?"

"I don't know how to explain it! That thing that infected him when Dark Gaia was woken up... I think it just... Took over!"

"_How is that even possible?_"

"How should I know! I'm a technogeek, not a paranormalist!" Tails countered frantically. "All I know is that Dark collapsed and when he got back up, Mephiles said that it wasn't Dark! And quite honestly, the voice was nothing like him either, or even the eyes!"

"And you just left Meph with him?" Shadow sounded rather aggravated at the idea.

"He wasn't even interested in me! And Mephiles said to go get help!" Tails shouted back defensively, shaking the device in frustration. "That thing is intent on getting to Mephiles because apparently it's going to affect Dark and... I don't even get what he said! Just get over here now! Use your magic Chaos Control or something!"

"We don't have any Emeralds, so if we do, we can't use it to go back right away! If he injures Meph, we can't use that to get him to the hospital quickly enough!" Shadow explained as if he felt like everyone kept forgetting this minor detail. "... We'll be on our way as soon as we can..."

"Just hurry..."

* * *

"Let's make a deal..." Dire grinned, much to Mephiles' horror, as the way it was done seemed so unnatural on Dark's face. "Stay on my good side, and you'll stay the most unharmed. It's fairly easy to stay on my good side... Just don't make me mad."

Mephiles stared with wide, fearful eyes, pulling himself away from Dire even more.

"And leaving my questions unanswered really is not a good way to stay on that side..."

Mephiles paled slightly, and swallowed a lump in his throat before nodding slowly and hesitantly.

"Wonderful! Now, to make sure that you don't attempt to leave..." Dire gestured to the door, and the lock clicked on it's own. Mephiles gasped with an inhale, eyes even rounder.

"... W-why are you doing th-this..?" He tried to stand up so he wasn't letting himself appear submissive. "... I never d-did anything to you, and... And D-Dark never did anything t-to you either..."

"It's not a matter of retribution or anything like that." Dire snorted, waving his hand in the air quickly, causing Mephiles to flinch at the sudden movement. "What you perceive as me doing something wrong is merely me doing what I'm supposed to. I thrive on negative emotions, and Dark gives off plenty. He's an energy source for things like me!"

"He doesn't deserve that!" The hedgehog shouted back, bristling his quills. "He's-!"

"And here we go again, you trying to defend him." Dire cut across him. "I honestly can't understand why you do. He's such a destructive creature by nature... He's always causing harm to either someone or himself, deliberate or not..." Dire had Mephiles backed into the corner in which the bed frame and nightstand pressed against each other, and being as close as he was now... He grabbed Mephiles' head and pulled it closer to inspect it, turning it to where the once injured side had been to look at it, the hedgehog letting out a squeal of fright, flailing his arms instinctively. "On that note, I'm surprised that you bear little to no marks from all the hits you've taken... Hardly a scar at all... And I'm quite certain that I heard that you had your head sliced open and smashed into a wall... Two months wouldn't be enough time to fully recover from that normally..."

"Let go of me!"

"Not even a depression in the skull..." Dire ignored the plea and began prodding, poking and feeling his fingertips against Mephiles' head, trying to locate where the injury had happened, but could find none. "... How intriguing... You must have an accelerated healing rate... No wonder you're still standing after all that brain trauma... Your body repairs itself more quickly than other Mobians..." Dire mused, pulling and pushing the quills out of the way. "... And I hear you can even extend that ability to others if you want... How-!"

Mephiles, already scared out of his mind at being handled roughly by some monster controlling his dear friend and brother figure, fought back instinctively and twisted himself just enough to be able to kick Dire's shin hard, which caused him to throw Mephiles headfirst into the bookcase, making the hardback books fall when he hit it.

"You smarmy little Ess-Oh-Bee! All you had to do was just stand there!" Dire snarled angrily, looking as if he was leaning his weight (or rather, Dark's lack thereof...) to the other leg slightly, having been kicked quite hard, but looking more livid than actually hurt. "Did you forget that Dark felt that too! Or that I could just pull the collar now and fry him right now for your stupidity! I could do that, and when I make sure his hands are clamped around it so tightly that the voltage passing through him won't let his muscles let it go, I'll leave him and make you watch! You're not doing very well at saving him, are you now!" He kicked the hedgehog in the stomach, who had curled up to protect his head from the falling books a few moments before. Mephiles grunted in pain, trembling. "In fact, at how hard you just kicked, you could have snapped his leg because of how frail he is right now! Do you want one of his last thoughts to be about how you carelessly broke his leg!"

"No! No! Stop! Please!"

"You wanted to fight back? I'll give you something to fight back over!" Dire grabbed Mephiles by the quills and drug the hedgehog away from the bookcase, throwing him back to the floor to watch him roll. "I gave you the option to just go with it until I got bored with you! I'm fairly reasonable! I give a chance or two! Heck, despite getting a smack to the head myself, I only gave Dark a flick on the nose for that! An actual flick!"

Mephiles tried to crawl away, but shrieked when his ankle was grabbed and he was pulled back towards Dire, who smacked him in the back of the head with a fairly large hard cover volume from the pile of books, prompting another cry of pain as he reached to grab the base of his skull in reaction.

"Why don't you fight back now! I haven't broken your limbs yet, so you're more than capable! Go ahead! Just throttle me! I can't weigh that much more than you, you can easily overpower me!" Dire snarled, having pinned the hedgehog down by sitting on his back as if having climbed onto a horse's back, throwing the book aside and grabbing a fistful of quills in each hand, ignoring the hedgehog's howls and screams. "You can easily just buck me off and punch me right in the jaw! Go ahead! Do it! Do it before I tear your quills out!" Dire raised his tone to more of a bark, actually dropping a pitch and not sounding quite as shrill as he normally did.

"Stop it! Please stop!" Mephiles shrieked, scratching his claws against the tiled floor as he tried to pull himself out from under Dire. Tears were now streaming down his face as well. He gasped and shouted: "Dark! Dark! If you can hear me, make him stop! Make him stop! Please! Why aren't you fighting back!"

"Oh, he can hear you! But he can't do anything about it!" Dire growled, shoving Mephiles' face to the floor, cheek pressed against the tile so the hedgehog was able to look up fearfully. "He knows exactly what's going on right now, and he's trapped where I left him! He can't help you either!"

Mephiles screamed and used his entire body weight to buck the creature off his back, using his chance as Dire fell off, to roll on his back to shift his weight onto the creature to get him to let go of his quills. Once he managed that in such a short tone frame, he rolled back onto his front and scrambled for the camera while Dire tried to recover.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!" Dire screeched as he reached for the struggling Mephiles, catching him by the shoulders and pulling him away from the extraction device. "WHEN WILL YOU LEARN, YOU STUPID, PATHETIC, HEDGEHOG!"

Mephiles didn't know what happened next, exactly. A searing, sharp pain erupted on the left side of his face, starting from his eyebrow and down to his cheek. He couldn't keep his eye open from how much it hurt, leaving him temporarily half blinded, only able to squint his left eye. He shrieked in pain as he reached a hand for it, feeling something very wet and sticky as several areas stung from contact. His nose wrinkled as the familiar scent of something almost metallic in content, whatever it is dribbling down to the tile below. He didn't need to see Dire's claws or pull his own hand away see what it was.

He was bleeding. Dire had slashed that side of his face, narrowly missing his eye (thus not blinding him) and no doubt having dug deep enough to cause lasting damage. In fact, a small puddle had already pooled beneath Mephiles' head as the blood drained through his fingers and down his arm and cheek in just a few short minutes.

Mephiles' pupil-less irises shrank to hear pin pricks and he screamed hoarsely in agony.

* * *

At that exact moment it happened, Dark held his breath, biting down his lower lip hard enough to make it bleed. Tears could no longer fall down his face, as he was sure he had run dry of them by now, so he couldn't if he wanted to. He pulled at the restraints almost feverishly, desperately wanting to make it all stop, to end this living nightmare. To free himself, and to throttle the little beast for touching his hedgehog, his friend, his brother...

Mephiles had been injured. Right over the eye. With his claws... His claws that Dire used to do it. Dark's body, his hands, had been used to tear across the hedgehog's face, marring it...

If he hadn't already gotten sick earlier, he would have surely just emptied his stomach right then and there, most likely on himself or directly next to him, given how he was restrained, with hardly much room to lean away to.

Then the painful shriek echoed in his ears almost clearly, chilling him to the bone. It might as well have happened right next to him, because it almost sounded as such. It was so agonized that he was sure his mind would be haunted for a long time over that nightmare inducing scream...


	52. Getting Better!

Something touched under his chin, and he immediately fought back, turning his head away, kicking his feet in the direction he was sure it came from, shouting in fear as he did.

"_Dark! Calm down! It's just me, Logic!_"

Dark's ears perked up and he swung his head back to look at him, his own teeth clenched and the expression on his face that of someone who had heard the most horrifying thing.

"_He's hurting Mephy!_" He howled, folding his ears back again and hanging his head. "_And Mephy's not fighting back!_"

Logic hesitated, not sure of what to do. He knew that he had no power beyond being able to trashed Dark with pure facts, which was the farthest from what he wanted to do...

He reached for him again to guide his gaze back up.

"_Dark... I'm going to find a way to get you loose..._" He said carefully. "_... But I need you to not freak out about what you're going to see next..._"

"_... Wh-what do you mean..?_"

"_... Remember when I mentioned that there was kind of a... 'We'?_" Logic explained nervously, watching Dark closely for signs of distress at the thought.

Dark stared at him before nodding slowly.

"_... I'm not the only one like me..._" Logic droop his ears a bit anxiously. "_... I know I told you before that I was... But, I only did that because it would have been too much for you to handle at the time..._"

"_... I... Wh-what..?_"

"_... Dark... Um... Meet the rest of us..._" Logic added awkwardly, directing Dark's attention to where he hadn't looked since Logic came back, and found himself staring at what looked like numerous versions on himself, all with variations in condition, posture, mannerisms, and even in appearance, if the small one was any indication. Some appeared nervous, others appeared excited, one seemed to be disinterested, at least one was shuddering, another looked upset... It seemed that any aspect you could think of was covered here among them...

And Dark just stared in shock as one of them, who had appeared to be quite listless before, started to giggle, holding his hands to his face to try and muffle his laughter.

"_Oh no! He's (snort) not taking it (Eee!) very well! (Ha!)_" The snickering one tried between breaths, biting down on his lower lip in a desperate attempt to stop.

"_I was afraid of that..._" Logic mumbled worriedly, shaking his head slowly before speaking more loudly. "_Dark, try not to lose it right now... Zane's always a tough one to calm down, and the more he laughs, the more likely you'll have an episode..._"

"_I've gone completely crazy! That's what happened! I knew this day would come! Ah!_" Dark shouted, for once sounding appalled at the idea, consider how much he often boasted about it being a key factor of himself.

At that moment, the aforementioned Zane burst into a fit of laughter, dropping to the dark floor, rolling around and flailing as if he had heard the funniest thing ever. He couldn't even speak clearly now.

At the same time, the Dark who looked as though his cheeks were never dry, burst into tears, howling and wailing at the top of his voice, shouting at Zane to stop because it wasn't funny.

"_Oh, geeze... Parry! Somebody calm him down, too!_" Logic called out, looking as though he felt that this was turning into a complete disaster.

"_How many of there are you!_" Dark shouted back accusingly. "_How come I didn't find out until now!_"

"_... I never really counted... But... Uh..._" Logic looked away for a moment. "_... Well... For every part of you, there's one that personifies that. Our names more or less explain what we do, but some of us share similar roles, so that one can take over if the other... Malfunctions... Or..._" Logic paused before looking back at Dark, who had his eyes narrowed. "_... There's something we call being 'disconnected'... There's not enough time to explain it right now, but it's not a fun thing to see..._" Logic stole a squinted glance in the direction of a particular Dark, who was gently trying to calm down the laughing one. Logic looked back. "_... But every part of you exists as one of us. Some of us differ more than others... Either in appearance or how long we've been around..._"

"_... Are you the oldest, then..?_"

"_... Technically... No..._"

Dark raised an eyebrow.

"_... See, I'm one of the oldest... I was actually the second one made... Rage over there is also one of the first..._" Logic gestured to an annoyed looking one with what looked like perpetually bristled quills and a constant baring of teeth, no matter how subtle. "_... Euphie? Come over here please..._" He motioned for the smallest one, carrying a tattered rabbit toy, to step over to them.

Dark stared at the child, who looked like what Dark might have looked like as a short, chubby toddler, had Dark actually had his Mobian Hedgehog form at that age... Had he ever actually been a toddler, that is...

"_This is 'Euphoria', but we all call him 'Euphie' for short._" Logic explained. "_... He's the oldest of all of us, and is the first emotion you ever felt._"

"_... Why is he so small..?_"

"_... When you wanted to forget about Iblis, you mistakingly cut off Euphie, but still had enough connection to him subconsciously, that he was slowed down drastically in growth... I'll explain better later..._" Logic said, looking away again briefly. "_... But he thinks just the same as the rest of us, just that his vocal vocabulary is still stuck at that typical for a real child that age. So he understands everything you might say to him..._"

"_... Look... This is all very... Interesting and all..._" Dark suddenly stated, narrowing his eyes. "_... And I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to fill me in on everything when he can... But there's just the matter of MEPHY IS BEING TORTURED WHILE YOU ALL ARE JUST STANDING HERE DOING NOTHING TO HELP ME!_"

Euphie squeaked and scurried behind Logic to hide, several other Darks flinched, some simply cringed, one looked completely unnerved, and one actually fainted from being startled by the sudden increase in vocal tone. Dark himself was huffing and panting angrily, thinned quills bristled in response.

Logic was the first to recover from the outburst as at least five other Darks swarmed around the collapsed one, one of them boredly poking him while another slapped the one doing the prodding, glaring at him.

"_We haven't forgotten that. It's just that time passes differently here, and it's hard to tell how it does when-_"

"_He's practically being mauled at this exact moment!_" Dark shouted over him, futilely straining against his restraints. "_His pain tolerance has already been pushed to where he's not even thinking clearly! But he still won't fight back because he doesn't want to hurt me! I have to do whatever I can to make it stop! He's-! He's-! Oh... no..._" Dark's body shuddered feverishly, his pale face exhibiting a look of pure horror as he stared before squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head roughly. "_... I can't block it out... Those screams are going to haunt me... for a very long time..._"

"_Alright everyone! Let's find a way to get him free!_" Logic turned to the other Darks.

* * *

Another scream as he felt something wrap around his tail and yank it forcefully to pull him out from under one of the beds he has taken up as a hiding place, even though that idea lasted only half a minute at most. He could swear that he felt something pop out of place, and the thought was accompanied by the sharp pain at the base of his tail that shot up his spine, followed by the startling realization that he couldn't feel his tail the same way he normally did at all... As if it had been dislocated...

"Why! Why are you doing this!" Mephiles pleaded again for what felt like the hundredth time in such the short space of time this horrific twist had transpired. "I j-just wanted to have D-Dark back! Please stop! Please!"

Another grab of his quills and he was lifted roughly to his feet, and had his head slammed, cheek side, against the wall, prompting another cry of pain from him as Dire said menacingly: "... Didn't anyone ever tell you that you don't always get what you want..? Selfish little brat..."

"It's n-not as s-selfish want!" The hedgehog stammered frantically. "He needs me! I need him! You d-don't-!"

"Cut the generic hero junk out... It's boring..." Dire shook the hedgehog's head a couple of times. "What about what I want? What about what I need? Do you realize that Dark is exactly the sort of source for what my kind thrives one needs? Do you realize that if I can draw Dee Gee's attention to him, that I might finally be granted the evolution a creature of my intellect deserves? I'm just as smart, if not more so, as a Nightmare. And yet I'm stuck as a stupid-!" He gripped the hedgehog's quills tightly and hit his head against the wall. "Little-!" Another hit. "Rex!" Another and a slight easing on the grip as Mephiles clenched his teeth, trying to hold back another series of cries. "I am constantly mocked and ridiculed for my small stature, and my brothers, as big as idiots as you'll ever find, have somehow managed to reach that goal before me! Heck, I heard that Blitz just got made into a Titan recently. A TITAN! How someone like him, a beast with an attention span of a rusted wingnut, managed to get that far, I'll never know! And it infuriates me that so few even acknowledge that I'm far more cunning than the rest of them! You are not taking this away from me! I will not be bested by a lowly, dirt digging, scavenging, cowardly, sniveling, Pure Souled, freakish, pincushioned rat, weakling like you!"

Maybe it was the blood loss starting to make him feel lethargic, but Mephiles couldn't do much more than cry out and reach a hand out to feebly try and pry the fingers off his quills. His vision was starting to get fuzzy, and his body was starting to tremble even more. The blood had already started to coagulate as part of his body's natural healing process, but the deepness of the cuts, as well as all the stress, stunted the backup plan.

The shortness of breath started to come, and he realized in horror what was going to likely happen soon.

Dire let go of him to observe, watching the hedgehog slide to the floor, curling into a tight ball, trembling as his fingers gripped into his white fur patch, wheezing breaths punctuated by short whimpers of pain.

Dire smirked again.

"Oh, I see... You suffer from an anxiety disorder, and extreme danger, stress or anything very jarring can imitate what must be the closest one can get to having a heart attack, without really having one..." He lowered himself to be level with the terrified hedgehog, crouching to do so, arms resting casually on his legs. "You know... I do believe Dark experienced a similar occurrence... When he first learned that you were still alive. The shocker for him wasn't that you weren't dead despite suffering such a head injury... It was that he saw that you were making new friends instead of hurrying to get here... He was quite sure at that moment you had given up on him and decided to replace him... Which, to him, meant that no one was going to rescue him, because you're the only one that would try... Huh... Imagine that..."

Mephiles was borderline sobbing now, shaking his head and curling up tighter, if possible, mumbling unintelligibly. Several of the florescent bulbs overhead exploded, dimming the room and the remanding light sources left flickering. Dire looked up at the lights with curiosity, grinning even deeper.

"So it's safe to assume your powers are emotion based as well? The more you feel, the more they go off..? Has anybody ever been hurt by a lash out of them when you didn't have complete control on them, I wonder..?"

Dire leaned forward more, observing Mephiles as if he has simply come across an anthill he was planning to shove a stick into to see how the creatures would react.

"You are equally as mesmerizing to observe as Dark, because you are so similar, but at the same time unique... Like twins separated at birth and raised on opposite ends of the globe... Perhaps you can answer me this, by the way...? About those crystals..." He caught a quill clump belonging to the hedgehog and pulled him closer to better view it, dragging the poor thing along the floor several inches by his quills alone. "... Do they grow in first, or are they simply a layer that thickens over time when new quills come in? Why do they exist on your shoulder quills as well, and yet grow on your tail in a manner completely different? For that matter, why do your hands and feet have them, and why are your fingers sharp on the ends but not your toes? Is the entire affected areas completely crystal, or is that a layer that can be peeled off? I hear that next to nothing can actually damage the coating enough to warrant medical care, but how do they fair against themselves? If I were to take these claws, and scrape them over the substance, can I effectively slice it apart with enough time and effort? Are the nerves actually in the layer, or what?"

No answer, to which Dire frowned.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! You answer me when I ask you a question!" He barked, catching the hedgehog by the neck and shoving him against the wall again, this time while they were both still on the floor. Mephiles continued to snuffle and wheeze, the left side of his face saturated with both tears and blood as his eyes continually drifted upward, only to be forced back down, the hedgehog obviously on the verge of fainting. Dire shook him slightly in annoyance. "How dare you try to give the silent treatment, Mephy Boy! How dare you try to ignore me!"

Mephiles' eyes shifted, and for a brief moment, there was a flicker of anger behind the terrified gaze. Dire caught that and shoved him against the wall again.

"Bit late to be getting a backbone, isn't it?"

"... D-don't call me... Mephy Boy..."

"Oh, is that a threat now?"

"... Only D-Dark... can c-call me that..." Mephiles said slowly through a stutter, glaring at Dire. "... And you... You're not D-Dark..."

"Well, gee, thanks for pointing out the obvious..." Dire said sarcastically. "How long did it take for you to come to that conclusion? Hmm?"

Before Mephiles could respond, his eyes went wide and he shuddered before having a coughing fit, head down and arms flailing to try and pull the hand away from his neck. Dire merely watched without the slightest change in movement or expression, as the hedgehog finally lifted his head, face pale, eyes wide, and well aware of a terrible taste in his mouth that sprang to mind a horrifying scenario to him...

_... That tasted like... Blood..._

"Looks like all those kicks and hits are finally catching up." Dire smirked again, reaching his other hand over to roughly wipe the edge of Mephiles' mouth, then pull back the hand to show the smear of crimson fluid to confirm it. "Let's see... There's the blood loss from the eye injury... Now this... Well, I'd say you'll be comatose by the end of the hour if you keep losing it all... I can imagine that the left side of your face is starting to lose feeling from all the drainage in such a short time..."

Indeed, he was starting to lose feeling in that side of his face... His left ear was completely numb now even! His mouth hung open now, and the air was beginning to be unbelievably thick to breathe...

Staring up into Dire's eyes, seeing the purplish-pink irises that hid the bright green ones of his dear friend, he searched desperately for a flicker of Dark in them... Something that would show him that the shadow was still there, trying desperately to claw his way free, to save the hedgehog as he had done many times before... And everything would be back to the way it was...

Nothing...

_... Dark's... He's gone..._ Mephiles eyes widened as another choking fit happened as he futilely pried at the hand holding him to the wall by his neck. _... No... He's got to still be there... I'm just not looking hard enough... He's still... Still..._

Suddenly, Dire let go with a curse, Mephiles flopping to the floor and wheezing for air the best he could in his state.

"... The heck? Stupid Pure Soul and your Pure Energy surges..." Dire growled, shaking his head while gripping his fingers around his wrist.

Mephiles lifted his head blearily, squinting to focus his eyes as he realized he could see the camera under the bed from where he was at...

_... I can't make it... He'll see me... And it's too far..._ He thought grimly, dropping his head down again. _... I suppose everyone was right... I can't be lucky forever..._

Darkness creeping around the edges of his vision, sounds starting to muffle, his body temperature starting to drop...

_... Dark never even got to have his square cantaloupe..._ Mephiles' mind was starting to drift to trivial things that didn't feel so trivial now. _... Hope Shadow doesn't blame Dark for this..._

He didn't see the flicker of orange light near the brightest corner of the room, nor did he see the strange visual anomaly move towards camera. He really didn't see anything, to be honest... Nothing he saw really reached his brain at this point...

Dire however, saw the flash. He saw it quite well, in fact. The blinding bright light that emitted from the device that was mysteriously capable of tearing a parasitic creature like him from an unwilling host like Dark. The light filled the dark little room, earning a screech that sounded like it came from both shadow beings, and when it cleared... A short, stubby, reptilian creature no bigger than a house cat was wobbling back and forth on his feet, dazed and confused, while Dark, eyes back to their rightful green hue, sat on his knees with a shell shocked look, as if he just didn't comprehend what he had been forced to witness through all his senses...

His eyes shifted around the room in a sluggish manner, taking in the state of things slowly, until his eyes rested on the collapsed heap on the floor that he quickly identified as Mephiles.

He screamed.

Dire, now at his most basic form, forever expelled from Dark because of the camera, jumped to his senses and growled, looking as though he intended on at least latching his sharp jagged teeth onto Dark that would require him to be pried off in such a way, that he'd be able to leave a good sized mark in the shadow hedgehog's flesh.

Before he could hop back to lunge forward to do that... A small barrier of flames erupted in front of him, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"What on Mobius..?"

A green hedgehog with peculiar black markings, and mismatched red and blue eyes was standing just feet from him, one hand grasping the camera tightly, the other held up holding a flickering light, strange eyes livid with almost a fiery rage.

"So, you must be Dire..?" The hedgehog said with a strange level of calmness that did not match his expression. "... I've heard so much about you..."

Dark was frantic, seeing the blood on his hands, knowing that it was not his own. Practically hyperventilating from the shock, he reached over to pull the hedgehog closer, shaking him in desperation.

"_Mephy! Mephiles!_" He shouted, not caring if anyone heard him like this. "_Wake up! Please! You Stupid Hedgehog, I order you to open your eyes right now and-!_" He cut himself off with a choking sound, gasping for air as he tried to keep himself from going absolutely insane at the possibility his one and only friend may be dead because of him. He inhaled sharply and tried again. "_You p-promised I'd never get hurt again! If you d-don't wake up right now, you're breaking it! You're breaking a p-promise, Mephy! You're not s-supposed to break promises! You're the last p-person I'd expect th-that from!_"

He resisted the urge to squeeze him tightly, knowing that in his injured state, Mephiles would be hurt even more if Dark's stress induced enhanced strength came into play. He just held him gently, supporting his head with one hand while resting his own on top of it, cheeks wet with tears.

"_... I-I know I probably don't say th-this enough..._" He stammered, getting more and more desperate. "_... I mean... I-it's a hard th-thing for me to understand, after all... B-but I... You're p-probably the only f-friend I've ever had... Th-the only one who's willing t-to put up with me... I... I c-can't lose you..._" He whispered the last part, feeling his fingers along the hedgehog's neck until he found the place to test for a pulse. A faint beating rhythm against his fingertips, and as he paused to count it, he could hear a weak wheeze rattling from the hedgehog's throat. Dark smiled feebly at this new discovery. "_... Oh, thank you, Chaos... He's st-still breathing... Th-there's still time..._"

The green hedgehog, who had left Dire under a small overturned trashcan, with several large and heavy volumes of books weighting it down, was now cautiously approaching the two identical crystal hedgehog's in front of him.

"... Oh, geeze, Dark..."

Dark looked up, staring at him with blank look before bristling his quills and snarling.

"_Why didn't you do something before he got hurt!_" Dark snapped at Shu/Iblis angrily. "_He was getting his head smashed in by a book! He was bleeding all over the floor! He was crying and screaming for help! He was being choked! WHY DID YOU JUST LET THAT HAPPEN!_"

"Dark... I'm sorry, but it was very complicated..."

"_NO! DO YOU SEE THIS BLOOD! HE COUGHED THAT UP! HE'S BLEEDING ON THE INSIDE!_" Dark shrieked, vision blurring from the tears that formed. "_I WAS TRAPPED AND BEING CONTROLLED AGAINST MY WILL IN MY OWN MIND, FORCED TO HEAR HIS SCREAMS AND NOT BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT! WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE, HUH!_"

Iblis was frozen for a moment, worried about... Well, everything. Then he spoke, in a much calmer tone than Dark.

"... First off... I didn't want to hurt you..." He said gently, folding his ears back. "... Dire had threatened to electrocute you to death if Mephiles had tried to stop him, so if I tried... I'm sure the threat was the same..." He sighed, shaking and holding his head. "... Second... Mephiles doesn't know I'm here, much less that I'm on his side now... He was already experiencing a panic attack, and if I intervened, he may have progressed into as close to a heart attack as you can get from that... I needed to wait until I could act without being seen..." He sighed heavily. "... And don't think you were the only one who heard the screams..."

Dark was silent, looking down at the floor.

Mephiles shuddered again, coughing up another dribble of blood, which the sight made Dark feel sick seeing it. The hedgehog moaned weakly, unfocused eyes opening only a little.

"_Mephy? Mephy! Can you hear me!_" Dark quickly tried to speak to him, not realizing that Mephiles had just done a reflex action and nothing more. "_Answer me!_"

"... Dark..." Iblis said in a worried tone, reaching for him, knowing that Mephiles didn't hear at all at this moment. "... He's not going to respond... He's just too-"

"_No!_" Dark slapped the arm away almost feverishly. "_H-he heard me! He's j-just-!_"

"Dark, look at me." Iblis cut across him, grabbing his head and pulling it to make Dark face him. "Mephiles is probably comatose right now... You can't wake him up right now..."

"_He's got healing powers! He'll be up soon, just like always!_" Dark protested in a strangely shrill voice, as if trying to convince himself that as much as he was trying to convince Iblis. "_He's going to wake up, and... And we're going to leave this horrible place... And... And we'll go back to the way th-things were... And, and... And he's going to c-comment about how th-thin and f-frail I look, and I'm going t-to t-try and g-get out of answering about it... And he's g-going t-to try to hug me, and... And..._"

_... He's going into a defensive state..._ Iblis realized, widening his eyes. _... He can't handle all this trauma at once, and his brain is trying to block it out... Oh, good Lord!_ Iblis realized even more jarringly. _This is probably what happened to him after we were first split!_

He grabbed Dark's shoulders.

"Dark! You need to stay focused!" He said urgently. "I know that sounds cruel, but a lot of questions are going to be asked, and you can't be an amnesiac when it looks like you might have done this to him! Do you understand me?"

Dark was quivering now, biting down on his lower lip.

"Dark! This is very important!"

"_... I... I didn't do it..._"

"I know that. You know that..." Iblis sighed again. "And Mephiles knows that. He was well aware that you would have never done anything like that to him..."

"_... I didn't try hard enough..._" Dark whimpered, tightening his grip on the hedgehog. "_... That's why I was too late..._"

"You tried as hard as you could..."

"_But it wasn't hard enough!_" Dark snapped back, shoving Iblis away with one hand while still using his other arm to support Mephiles. "_And Mephy had to pay for my ineptitude!_"

Iblis blinked.

"... Dark..." He said in a soft tone. "... Let's try and put this into a sort of perspective, okay..?" He reached for Dark's chin to pull his attention back to look at him. "... Dire was a new and overwhelming force to you, was he not..?" Dark nodded slowly as Iblis continued. "... He was a negative influence trying to chip away at your sanity, right..?" Another nod. "And you fought that for as long and hard as you could, did you not..?" Slow nod. "... No matter how hopeless it got, you still fought against it, and you did not just submit or give up. You've been fighting that thing for two months now, maybe more... You didn't give in. Do you understand? You lasted far longer than I would have..."

"_It doesn't change the fact that Mephy got hurt!_" Dark shouted back. "_It doesn't change the fact that he got hurt because of ME! Do YOU understand that! It's my fault!_"

Iblis exhaled again, and stood up to walk over to the overturned trashcan, knocking the books off and roughly scooting it over to where Dark was, Dire snarling and barking in high pitched squeaks inside.

"Release me, you little freaks! When I get out of here, I'm going to-!"

Iblis smacked a hand against the container, earning a vibrating metal sound that clearly caused Dire some discomfort in what would be assumed to be his ears.

"You have no right to be speaking to us, you fat little lizard..." Iblis growled dangerously, lifting the trashcan and swiftly pinning the squirming little monster down effortlessly with one hand. "I don't think you realize who we are..."

"If you want to say that you're-!"

"Shut up!" Iblis grabbed the creature by the foot and lifted him off the ground, leaving Dire to flail helplessly because of his short limbs being of no help to him. "The only reason I haven't left you in that thing and set it on fire so you burn worse than what you put Dark through, is because I don't want to scare him doing that... And believe me... I _will_ be scary..."

* * *

A flash of green light, a hedgehog and a bat, the spiky one holding a large diamond cut gem, which promptly crumbled in his hand.

"Oh, good! You found the copies!" Tails shouted in relief, jumping out of the cockpit of the Tornado to quickly greet Shadow and Rouge. "Did you get more than one? Because you need to get to the base, and get back here then-!"

"We need to be quick... GUN wants to storm the base looking for the Doctor..." Shadow interrupted, but none the less pulled two of the Chaos Emerald copies from his quills. "Thanks Tails... They were right where you said they were..."

"Did you lock the door before you left?"

"That's kinda not a priority at the moment... I'm sure no one will try to raid your workshop, however..."

Tails uttered a short string of gibberish, grabbing his fur tufts and pulling down in frustration before quickly composing himself.

"You're right... This is kinda more important than... Various custom built equipment I've been working on..." He managed hesitantly, cringing at the statement before nodding in agreement. "... After all... Mephiles has been my friend since we picked him up... Okay... The base is at least a fifteen minute run non stop from here, over various obstacles, pits of lava, treadmills going opposite ways, and-!"

Shadow just grabbed Tails' arm and shouted: "Chaos Control!"

Another bright flash of light, and the fox, the hedgehog and the bat were standing in what appeared to be a metal lined hallway, Tails shuddering slightly, his tails twisting together in a bunch.

"Hey, Shadow?" He said, suppressing a twitch as Shadow released his arm, the second false Emerald crumbling as well. "Warn me next time... I'm still not used to doing that yet..."

"Sorry about that... Now, which way are they?" He said, shaking the gem dust from his gloves as Rouge twitched her ears in all directions to pick up something they couldn't.

"... The metal walls are reverberating too much sound... I can't figure out which way..." She said, looking over her shoulder and back ahead. "... There's someone here, alright, but I can't be sure where and who's speaking..."

Tails spotted a scorch mark and a fist sized dent on a wall just at the end of the corridor.

"Hey! That was there last time!" He announced, pointing to it. "We can't be too far then!"

"... How did someone manage to do that..?" Shadow mused for a moment, knocking his knuckles against the wall carefully. "... This isn't exactly a soft sort of metal... Not to mention, if it had been done by one of the Doctor's robots, there would be indications of metal hitting metal... And fire..?"

"The stairs shouldn't be too far!" Tails reminded him, waving his hand to beckon the bat and hedgehog to follow him. "At the bottom of the stairs is what looks like a recovery room... And that's where we found Dark. You already know the rest about what happened afterwards."

"Wait... There was only stairs keeping him down there?" Shadow raised an eyebrow at this. "As far as I know, he's kinda the type of guy who doesn't let stuff be a barrier to him..."

"He fell down the stairs, remember, Shadow..?" Rouge reminded him. "He's been afraid of them since then."

"He never indicated that..."

"Of course he won't say it exactly. But you can't say you haven't noticed how he goes out of his way to avoid having to step on them." Rouge shook her head as they continued forward, her hovering above the ground. "Remember back at the hospital, he'd prefer the elevator over them? And never mind that he's claustrophobic..."

"Since when? How did you find this out?" Shadow frowned.

"Remember when he went ballistic back at the house and you locked him in the closet for a few minutes so he didn't hurt us or himself freaking out?" Rouge explained, looking somewhat annoyed at Shadow for not noticing such details. "And he started screaming and trying to claw his way out of there? And when you opened the door, he was huddled in a corner, panicking?" They turned another corner. "Doesn't that sound like a claustrophobic episode to you? I wouldn't be surprised if that fear was originated from being trapped for as long as he was, in that Scepter." Shadow stared at her while he walked quickly behind here, still following Tails. "I know this because I actually bothered to pay attention to him..."

"We're almost there!" Tails announced, waving his arm to signal to them. "Geeze, I hope we're not too late!"

A few minutes later, they reached the stairs and the bottom of them. Tails, being up front, reached the door first by skidding to a stop, and almost immediately, he looked horrified when he looked into the room.

Shadow, seeing this, wasted no time in shoving the fox out of the way to get inside, and before Rouge could follow, she heard a furious shout of "WHAT DID YOU DO!"

Reacting fast enough to stop the possibility of an extreme misunderstanding, Rouge hurried in after Shadow, and quickly wrapped her arms around his chest to pull the angry hybrid hedgehog away from the obviously cowering Dark, who seemed genuinely terrified out of his mind to see Shadow now, of all times.

"Shadow! Stop! You don't even know what happened! You can't just blame him!" Rouge reasoned anxiously, knowing full well that Shadow could easily shove her off if he wanted to.

"Am I the _only_ one who sees the blood all over him!" Shadow shouted back, reaching an arm out wildly to try to grab at Dark, who instinctively gripped Mephiles even closer in a panic, trying to pull the crystal hedgehog with him as he tried to scoot away. "You let go of him right now!"

"_But-! But I-! I-I didn't do it!_" Dark tried to explain frantically, shaking his head roughly and sounding almost as if he were on the verge of hyperventilating as he let Mephiles go. "_I-! You know I-I'd never-! I tr-tried to st-stop him! I tr-tried-! Oh... Oh God!_" He suddenly squeaked, trembling and holding his chest as he started wheezing. "_I... I c-can't breathe... I can't b-breathe..._"

Once Rouge let go of Shadow, the black hedgehog swiftly made his way to Mephiles to check on him.

"... He's still breathing..." Shadow said, looking at Rouge, who was attempting to coax Dark out of the ball he was curled up in. "... What are you doing?"

"He's just as much a victim as Mephiles, Shadow..." Rouge narrowed her eyes at him. "I think he just dropped an entire clump's worth of quills right now alone..." She picked up a small handful of the brittle spines off the floor right beside Dark, who had yet to uncurl. "He clearly hasn't sleep properly in days, and I don't recall him ever being this thin..."

"It wasn't his fault..." Said another voice, almost meekly, from behind them.

Shadow and Rouge spun around to find a strange looking green and black hedgehog in wristbands and sandals, sitting at the far corner behind them, an upside down trashcan in front of him, to which he had his hands on.

"Oh, geeze!" Shadow shouted in shock, having not seen him just as much as everyone else, with Tails even a little surprised. "How did-! Who are you?"

The green Hedgehog looked up before looking away, showing that he had a blue and a red mismatched set of eyes, which caused a few raised eyebrows at the sight. There was an old camera next to him, having spit out a picture already from the front.

"... I'm Shu..." He said, gripping his fingers around the trashcan a little tighter as something inside it started to snarl and thrash around. "... I've been here with Dark for the past couple of months, so I guess I'm kinda his friend now..."

"You're Shu?" Tails said, having broken his brief state of muteness to stare at the odd hedgehog... Eh, well, not as odd as the others. "So you really are here, then?"

"... Why not..?"

"... Well, because Mephiles wasn't sure about if you were or not..." Tails explained briefly, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. "... Because, I guess, Dark tends to... Y'know what? It's none of my business... Carry on..."

"... Riiiight..." Shu said slowly, glancing at the fox with skepticism before returning to his explanation. "... Well... Uh... I kinda saw the whole thing..."

"Why didn't you do anything to stop if from getting this far?" Shadow accused quickly, causing Shu to flinch.

"I was scared..?" He shook his head. "... I was hiding under one of the beds when then weird camera thing was shoved under... I remember hearing... Was that 'Mephiles', you said his name was..? Well, he had said to Dark earlier that the camera would be able to extract something... I think it was the creature that was possessing him..."

"And where is the creature now..?"

"Right here." Shu lifted the trashcan and flung it, quickly pinning the snarling little beast to the floor with his hands. "It said it's name was 'Dire', and it wanted to feed off of every bit of pain Dark gave off... So I think that's why he went after the other kid... Because it would hurt Dark so much to have see that... Watch out!" He added quickly as Shadow moved towards it to better view it. "I think it can bite!"

"You know darn well I can bite, you little freak!" The squirming neon creature snapped.

"It can also talk, too..." Shu added almost boredly. "... Boy, can it talk... And talk... And talk..."

"I get it." Shadow interrupted quickly, picking Dire up by the foot. "So, you're the little creep responsible for all this?"

"You spiny rat! Let go of me!"

"Rat? I'm Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Lifeform!" Shadow snapped back. "And that was my friend you just beat to a bloody pulp! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't obliterate you right now! Go on!"

"Ultimate Lifeform? My, aren't you high and mighty! Never heard of you!"

"Hey! I think you have more important things to worry about right now!" Shu interrupted, pointing to the two crystal hedgehogs. "Just give it here and I'll stick him back under  
the trashcan!"

"How are you going to keep it there?"

"These books are heavy enough, I can just stack them on top, can't I?"

"..." Shadow was reluctant, but finally handed Dire over, knowing that he needed to focus more on the two young hedgehogs. Looking over at them, he added: "Rouge! Get away from him, and you take care of Meph! I'll handle Dark!"

"But-"

"If he lashes out, I'd rather it'd be me who gets hurt..."

Before he could step away from Shu, the green hedgehog caught his arm for a moment.

"... Please be careful with him..." Shu said quietly, glancing over at Dark, who was still in a trembling ball. "... He's been through a lot already..."

"... Why are you so interested in him..?" Shadow sounded a little annoyed.

"..." Shu let go and looked away before saying: "... He reminds me of a brother I had once..."

"... Oh... S-sorry..." Shadow apologized hesitantly. "... I'll see what I can do..."

As Rouge carefully lifted the unresponsive Mephiles up from the floor, trying to mind the rather painful looking slash across his face... Shadow attempted to do the same with Dark, who immediately shrieked and flailed at the hybrid hedgehog's touch, kicking and trying to crawl away the best he could in his panicked state.

Having never really seen that happen with Dark before, Shadow was taken aback and for once... actually felt bad for the shadow creature. To see Dark so panicked that he was in such a primal state of self preservation was kind of unnerving...

Sighing and taking a breath, he brought himself to Dark's level and tried to be more coaxing.

"... C'mon... We'll take you home..." He said carefully, reaching out with one hand.

"_Liar! You hate me! Would you even care about what happens to me!_" Dark shouted back, tears streaming down his face. "_You're just doing this to look good!_"

"... You're Meph's friend... He wouldn't want you to be left here all alone... not after he just spent the last two months trying to find you by going all over the world..." Shadow shook his head. "... If you're going anywhere, it's going to be with us..."

"_... H-how do I know you won't t-turn me over to... th-those people you work f-for..?_"

"... Why would we do that..?"

Dark held up his hands with an apprehensive look, shuddering as he indicated to the bloodstains on them.

"_... B-because this c-can't look any w-worse than it already d-does..._" He whimpered. "_... And if anyone were to f-further look into it... my c-claws do match the wounds very well..._"

"No one is going to do anything to you..."

"... Promise..?"

The loss of the growl again. The true voice of Dark. Nothing more than a terrified child in the middle of a horrible situation he really had nothing to with.

Wide eyed, frail, quills brittle, fur patchy and mangy in some places. Face pale, the tell tale signs of chronic insomnia hanging under his eyes.

This was not a horrible demon who like to force a kid to play mind games for his amusement. No, that was the creature trapped under a trashcan, snarling at the angrily for being ignored.

This was a scared and confused young boy who was afraid of losing everything he had any attachment to, because it had happened before. A child who didn't know what would become of him if he lost his way back home.

"... H-he's going to be alright... isn't he..?" Dark added, looking at Mephiles with a horrified stare. "... H-he always gets better, right..?"

Looking at Mephiles as well, Shadow was silent before saying: "... He's tougher than he looks... He's got a strong will for life... He'll be alright, I'm sure..." Looking back at Dark, he added: "You have nothing to worry about... you won't be taken somewhere you don't belong..."

"... But..?"

"... I mean that you belong with us, no matter what... Meph made sure of that..."

"..."

"..."

"... Thank you, Shadow..." Dark smiled weakly before reaching out to allow himself to be picked up off the floor, having felt as if he wouldn't be able to walk far without collapsing. "_... You don't know how badly I needed to hear that..._"


	53. I need to rename the chapters now

"He's got a likely chance to pull through... But for now, he's in a comatose state, and we don't know how long to expect..." Dr. Thizon reported, thumbing through the small packet of paper. "We've located the source of the internal bleeding and stitched that up, as well as his tail appears to be dislocated, his brain shows signs of a concussion, but no indication of swelling, and he may need a transfusion to compensate for the amount of blood he's lost..."

"What about his eye..?" Shadow asked nervously.

"Well, the good news is that there's no sign of damage to the part the actually sees, so I'm sure he won't be blind there..." Thizon smiled slightly only to let it fade as quickly as it came. "The bad news is that we don't know if there will be a lasting mark, because it's quite deep, and we don't know to what extent his ability can correct it... So we're not sure if it's going to be a scar or not..."

"What about Dark..?" Rouge added. "... He wasn't in good shape when we found him, either..."

"... It's hard to say if he faired any better than Mephiles, because his damage seems to fall into a completely different category..." The porcupine doctor flipped the pages a few times. "... As far as physical goes, Dark is showing signs of extremely poor sleep quality, he's really underweight for his size and age, he's showing signs of continual illness that has been poorly treated, there's electrical burns on his neck from that collar you mentioned, his quills are in brittle condition again, and there's evidence of at least one near bone fracture on his wrist that's been in the last month..." Thizon flipped the page again. "As for the effects on his brain because of all this... It's too soon to be clear, but he's going to likely have some form of PTSD from what he just experienced. How severe it is, time will tell... Mental evaluations aren't really my specialty, however..."

"But you're probably the only doctor he's going to let get near him..." Rouge pointed out.

"Yes, but I really only handle physical trauma..." Thizon explained again. "... Once Mephiles is out of the ER, do you want him moved to Dark's room, or next door or what..?"

"... I don't know if it's a good idea to have them in the same room..." Shadow said slowly, shaking his head. "... It might upset Dark even more to see him like that..."

"My thoughts exactly, but I just wanted an opinion..."

* * *

Sitting on the bed, pressing the buttons of the remote tethered to it idly, switching the TV on and off, Dark was waiting for a sign of what was going to happen next.

So far, it's been nothing but good signs. He wasn't locked in the room, nor was he handcuffed to the bed, and no one was really standing by the door to make sure he hadn't left. Honestly, it seemed like if he wanted to, Dark could simply step out of the room and wander the halls in boredom, and no one would care.

_... I know that I hate being watched closely like they think I'm plotting something... But the least they can do is ask me how I'm doing..._ He frowned, now taking to leaving the TV on and just rapidly flipping through the stations, knowing full well there was going to be a lack of interesting programming this time of night. _... Better yet... Tell me how Mephy's doing, and where he is now..._

Pausing on a station for a moment, he realized there was a lot more channels than he was used to in previous stays at. Westopolis' hospital.

_Geeze... That insurance musta been real good to be able to get digital cable after the rebuilding..._ He blinked. _... Come to think of it, the whole place just looks better than usual... I don't recall the printed wallpaper before either... Wait..._ He absentmindedly changed the channel again, not really paying attention to what's on screen. _... That means that hallway isn't there anymore... As well as that particular set of stairs... Wow..._

Another click on the remote.

_... What's taking them so long to be able to tell me anything..?_ He glanced at the door in annoyance. _... If anyone has a right to know what's up with Mephy, it's me..._

Frustrated that he had been left in the dark about what was going on for the past three hours, he was now the point where he was using his powers to slide the heavy curtain between his bed and the empty one, back and forth.

Finally, he caught a glimpse of the bat and black hedgehog though the room window to the hallway. He slid off the bed quickly and made his way to the door to listen in on what was being said.

"-It's universally compatible either way, because the Professor wanted to be sure that there'd be no chance of rejection when the NIDS cure was cultured and transferred via a transfusion from me..." Shadow was explaining in a low tone, shaking his head.

"_What's going on? What are you talking about?_" Dark interrupted, gaining their attention rather quickly. "_Where's Mephy? Is he alright?_"

The slight cringe worried him.

"... Well... They've stopped the bleeding and his eye is expected to have no damage to his vision..." Shadow started.

"_I'm sensing a 'but' to this statement..._" Dark groaned weakly in dread.

"... The bad news is that he's likely going to need a transfusion to compensate for the amount he's lost..." Shadow looked away nervously, finding interest in a corner somewhere. "... We also don't know when he may wake up again..."

"_... I... I don't... What?_" Dark looked as though his brain couldn't process that. He blinked several times, shaking his head before looking up from the floor and said in an accusing tone: "_... What do you mean you don't know? He's going to wake up, like he always does._"

"... He's hurt pretty badly..." Rouge tried to explain as carefully as she could. "... He-"

"_Use mine._" Dark interrupted.

"What?" Both Shadow and Rouge said in unison.

"_Use my blood for the transfusion..._" Dark explained further, frowning a little more. "_If anyone is a perfect match to him, it's me... We used to be one person, after all... Our blood should be nearly identical..._"

"... About that..." Shadow offered almost nervously, actually taking a step back while holding a hand up. "... Well, for one, you're under the age limit to give... Two, your body is in no condition for that, because you're underweight, ill, and it's a risk to you..."

"_I don't care... If it's going to help Mephy, then-_"

"You've also already received a transfusion, so your blood is already mixed, and it degrades the effectiveness to another receiver..."

"_... What?_" Dark said flatly, his mouth hanging open for a moment before he regained his bearings, somewhat poorly. "_... No, I haven't... I would have known..._"

"The night you were attacked in the living room..." Rouge explained, allowing Shadow another chance to step back. "You lost enough blood to make it necessary to give you a transfusion to keep you alive..." Dark continued to stare in a dumbfounded state. "There's actually two people there at that time who had a compatible type to yours... And one of them was pulled into a room to be questioned over and over about what happened to you..."

"_... Wait... Then that means..._" Dark looked like he couldn't decide if he should be thankful or disgusted. "_... Oh... Oh my... Oh, geeze! Don't tell me_ he's_ the one!_" Dark shouted angrily, pointing at Shadow. "_Of all the people, and it had to be you! That stuff has already run through every inch of my veins! It's touched my brain! I don't know whether to be grossed out or impressed that you didn't let me die when you had the chance!_"

"... Uh, you're welcome?" Shadow said awkwardly. "... Yeah, we kinda didn't want to tell you before because you'd freak out like you just did..."

"_... Whatever... When can I see Mephy..?_" Dark held his head with one hand, sighing.

"... It's kinda late to be doing that..." Shadow reasoned. "... It's probably best that you wait until tomorrow..."

"_But if you're going to give blood, why can't I follow you to see him..?_"

"Because we're very sure that you don't want to see them do that..." Shadow said, shaking his head. "... I'm sure you don't like things piercing skin..."

"_... N-no..._" Dark look a little disgusted, but that look faded quickly. "_... But I want to see Mephy..._"

"... Now's really not a good time... You should do that tomorrow..."

"_I've been away from him for two months! I'm not waiting another second!_" Dark shouted, getting frustrated. "_You can't stop me!_"

"If it helps any, he's in the room next door, and he'll be there tomorrow..."

"_I want to see him now!_"

"... You're really not going to like what you'll see..." Shadow pressured, looking anxious. "... Look, the longer you take arguing about this, the longer it's going to take to get him that transfusion. It's been a long night already, and it'd probably be better if you just wait until tomorrow..."

"_I need to see him for myself!_" Dark continued to argue.

"... Fine, then... But once they start the transfusion..." Shadow finally caved in out of the fact that he was worried about hour much time was lost already. "... You need to go back to your room and call it a night..."

"_... I'll do what I want..._" Dark grunted, but nodded nonetheless.

Once he stepped into the room, he immediately looked sick at what he saw.

The blood was cleaned off the fur and skin, at the very least, but the injured hedgehog still appeared almost lifeless. The hurt eye now had clean gauze taped to the affected area, an oxygen providing tube was shoved into his nostrils to help supplement his already weak breathing pattern, several sensors were stuck to him to monitor his vitals, an IV drip was attached to an arm, and the young hedgehog's muzzle was as pale as paper.

Dark stumbled back, leaning against the doorframe as he inhaled deeply and quickly, as if starting to hyperventilate again.

"... Hey, are you alright..?" He heard someone, possibly the bat, say to him in concern.

He shook his head slowly, holding his head in one hand as a familiar twinge started up to signal an oncoming headache. He squeezed his eyes shut, and everything felt like it was spinning and tilting, all this making him feel dizzy and lightheaded, his legs trembling in the effort to keep him from crashing to the floor.

"... Here, I'll take him back to his room..." Rouge said anxiously. Shadow started to protest out of concern for her safety with a clearly addled Dark, but she replied: "You're the one giving blood, you can't keep them waiting any longer... I'll be fine, I'm sure..."

Dark flinched at a careful touch to his shoulder, pulling away with a cry of fright, obviously distressed enough as it was.

"Kid, it's okay, I'm just going to help you back to your room..." He heard her say, and he slowly opened his eyes to find himself staring at her feet, and gradually lifted his eyes to stare at her's for hardly a second before quickly shifting them back down, trying to avoid eye contact. His breathing was still quick and deep, and it was getting obvious by the second that Dark was going to collapse very soon if he wasn't calmed down. "... I want you to breathe a little slower, too... Can you do that?"

Dark didn't give any indication that he heard.

"... You're going to make yourself sick if you keep breathing like that..." She explained, giving him a slight nudge in the direction of his room, and he only stumbled that much in that direction before being still again.

_... It's like he's just shut off from everything... Like he's in shock..._

After the somewhat difficult task of getting him practically next door, and eventually coaxing him to crawl back onto the bed, Dark rolled over to face away from her and curled up, trembling and still breathing heavily.

Deciding that it was more important to make sure that Dark wasn't going to hurt himself from lack of proper carbon dioxide expulsion, on account of him taking in too much oxygen by the was he was breathing, Rouge reached over to touch his shoulder again, and said: "I'll stay in here until you've calmed down and fallen asleep, if you want..."

"_... What about... Mephiles..?_" Dark's voice just sounded so flat and dead right now.

"... He's in good hands with these guys..." She tried to reassure him. "They brought you back from the dead before, after all. They'll take good care of him..."

"_... Should have never happened..._" Dark mumbled, shaking his head, but not looking her way. "_... I tried to tell him to not hold back... But he was afraid of hurting me..._"

"I won't lie, you do look like you'd break a bone more easily than the last time we saw you..." Rouge agreed to the claim quietly before speaking a little louder. "... A little bit related here, but if you don't mind me asking... What happened the day you two went missing? We found the hats and scarves covered in blood, and signs of a struggle... When Mephiles was able to contact us to tell us he was alright and that Sonic and Tails found him, he mentioned a blue robot had attacked both of you, and the last thing he remembered was being struck in the head before he was knocked out..." As she continued, Dark lifted his head to look over over his shoulder at her. "... Your scarf had blood on it... Were you hurt at all when that happened..?"

Dark stared before shaking his head slowly and looking away again.

"_... I was using it to try and stop the bleeding... He was struck trying to get between me and that robot..._"

"... I see..."

"_... He only got between us because I made a stupid remark earlier about how he was easy to scare, and couldn't fight very well... I was irritable from lack of sleep and shrugging, and shouldn't have said anything..._" Dark grumbled miserably, pulling the pillow over his head. "_... It was also my fault for us even being in that alley... He heard the thing coming before I did and said we should just go home, but thought it would be safer to hide there until it disappeared... He didn't want to go there, and kept telling me that he felt like something bad was going to happen... I thought he was just being paranoid because he was already scared, and he tends to think the worst case scenarios when he's like that..._"

"... But you can move fast like Shadow, and make yourself disappear when you want to... Why did you choose to hide..?"

This did not sound accusing at all, and Dark appreciated the tone.

"_... Several reasons... I cannot use my abilities as well as normal under extreme stress or fear... If I had tried to warp, I might not have been able to take Mephy along with me, and I wasn't going to leave him alone with that thing..._" Dark lifted the pillow off his head for a moment. "_... Mephy was also panicking, so I was more concerned with trying to keep him calm than I was trying think properly... And... Well... I always try to hide... it's a natural shadow thing to do..._" He sighed heavily, shuddering as he added miserably, pulling the pillow back on his head: "_... I do not think I will be able to sleep very well tonight... If at all..._"

"... You look like you haven't in weeks..."

"_... I've heard plenty about that..._"

* * *

By two o'clock at night, Shadow and Rouge had to leave to go home, now that the transfusion was successful, and Mephiles was in a more stable condition... It was after normal hours, after all.

Dark had to stay overnight, of course... And was expected to remain at the hospital until his half starved, exhausted, brittle quilled, scrawny body was brought back to a more tolerable condition, preferably the kind of what he had been prior to the "infection" of the little Dark Gaia monster.

He was, as expected, having trouble falling asleep, and staying such. At least twice in the same ten minute time frame, he jolted to his senses, somewhat panicked before forcibly reminding himself that he was no longer being held captive by that Human, and that Mephiles was safe just a room away, and hopefully dreaming of far better things than he himself was...

Pulling his hands from his face, he looked around the darkened room, and he couldn't help but wish that he had Iblis' company there to reassure him that everything would be alright, even if he didn't truly believe so himself.

_... It's just too risky for him to be showing up here, even at this time..._ Dark thought dejectedly, drooping his ears. _... We should have thought of a meeting strategy..._

Laying down on his back, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles, and arching his back a bit to work out a slight soreness that was settling at the base of his spine, Dark yawned widely, eyes watering a little as he tried to fall asleep again.

He just couldn't.

_... No way I can do this, not as long as I know Mephy is like that..._ He frowned, sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, feet dangling above the floor. _... Geeze... I've gotten so used to having some sort of voice in my head that this silence is louder than anything Dire could have come up with..._

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he slid off the bed and stepped over to the window that overlooked the outside, leaning against the sill with his arms folded against it, looking out to the world outside.

Whatever time had passed in his captivity, it was still snowy, although very slushy on the streets with the traffic having driven through the settled frozen water crystals... He could see that from the whatever story window he was looking out of.

What perplexed him the most was the amount of lights put up as if some sort of decoration around buildings, street posts, and even trees, he could see from the distance.

Frowning slightly more, as he had never seen holiday decor, much less celebrated holidays, his first assumption was that the people had done such with the light as a way to repel the dark little creatures that had preyed upon tormented souls like him.

If only he knew...

Glimpsing upward, he could see the glow of the moon just barely visible above the edge of the top of the window, so he immediately wanted to see it.

Looking around carefully, he checked to see if he was really left alone, and closed his eyes again, thinking about what he wanted to do at this exact moment.

In a flash of purple, he found himself on the roof of the building, and he looked up at the sky. It was peppered with stars, most of the expanse marred with clouds, and the moon half hidden behind one, but it didn't matter... He had seen his first glimpse of the sight in the past two months.

He realized that he was standing in a patch of snow that had settled on the roof over sometime during the weather, but he didn't care if he got cold from that... He really didn't care about anything beyond whether or not his hedgehog was going pull through...

"_You'll get sick if you stay out here too long, y'know..._"

Dark jumped as if startled for a moment, and lowered his head from looking up at the sky to settle his gaze on his twin, who looked just as forlorn as he did.

"_... Hello, Brother..._" Dark looked away again and just nodded.

"_... I'm really sorry it turned out like this..._" Iblis added, stepping closer, the snow around him melting from the heat his body gave off. "_... I wanted to help, but I'm certain that he would have been even more scared at seeing me... Even in that other form, the fire would give it away... That kid is good about reading between things like that..._"

"_... Nobody blames me... It's very bizarre, really..._" Dark frowned in confusion, not looking away from the sky. "_... Once the story got straightened out, I'm being treated as a victim as well..._"

"_... Well, maybe they can get you back into better shape now..._" Iblis was unsure as to what to say, really. "_... I'm quite baffled as to how you can even stand when you're so frail looking..._" Dark shuddered as Iblis wondered if he said something wrong. "_... Oh, I didn't mean to upset you, Dark... I just-!_"

Dark suddenly spun around and launched himself forward towards his twin, wrapping his arms around Iblis' torso tightly as if afraid the flame was going to disappear quite suddenly without warning.

"_... Dark...? What's wrong now..?_" Iblis was confused when it happened, and even more so when Dark started to shake and gasp, inhaling sharply.

Dark just shook his head, and started sobbing, which startled Iblis even more.

"_Did I say something wrong? If I did, I'm sorry!_" Iblis was looking around to see in any attention was attracted to them, but thankfully not from what he could see. He lifted a hand hesitantly and placed it on the younger one's head in his awkward way of trying to restore order. "_... You probably shouldn't be up here this time of night, anyway... It's cold, it's wet and you could get sick real easily if you stay here..._"

"_... Did you see how he is right now..?_" Dark squeaked in a somewhat strained voice, obviously trying to force himself to be calm, but having a hard time doing so. "_... Th-this isn't like th-the other times... He really c-could have d-died if we h-had been left th-there any longer th-than we were!_"

"_... I suppose the important thing now is that he's getting the attention he needs, and that you just need to wait until he's healed over..._" Iblis stated, feeling awkward by the second.

"_... No one even knows how l-long it'll take..._" Dark lifted his eyes slightly from where he had his head buried (in the white chest fur...). "_I d-don't even have a c-clue... And th-then there's the complications th-that may result... As well as the p-possibility that he may f-freak out at the sight of me... And-!_"

"_He knew it wasn't you doing that to him._" Iblis reminded him carefully, gently guiding him out of the melting ice puddle. "_He knew as soon as that thing took over, that it wasn't you. He has no reason to blame you, because he knows that you would never do that to him, and that he was well aware that you were... Well, 'infected'._" Iblis tried to reason, steering the shadow closer to the door that led to the stairwell inside.

Right away, Dark stiffened at the sight of the door that he knew led to where he was quite afraid of, and so he immediately dug his heels into the gravelly covering of the flooring of the roof to try to anchor himself.

Iblis, who had once again overlooked a detail like this, was concerned when Dark started to tremble again, this time from fear. Then he realized the cause and mentally kicked himself for such a blunder.

"_... I can assure you there's nothing to be afraid of..._" He tried to be comforting, but Dark continued to try and place distance between him and the stairwell. "_... I understand it was a terrible ordeal, and one of the worst things you ever experienced... But you can't cower from something inanimate forever..._"

"_... Thirty-seven..._"

"_... Pardon..?_"

"_... Thirty-seven... The amount I counted before I blacked out..._" Dark shuddered again. "_... Th-the amount of times I counted hitting a step... B-before I c-couldn't count anymore... Thirty-seven steps my head hit at the very least..._"

Iblis stopped quite suddenly, then closed his eyes, sighing.

"_... I seriously cannot tell you how much I regret that..._" He said dejectedly, shaking his head. "_... But, you have to come down from here... What if someone realizes your room is empty and finds you up here..? What are you going to say..?_"

"_... Nothing... They'll just assume I was sleepwalking..._" Dark answered quietly with a strange amount of truthfulness. "_... It's on my records... I'm a certified somnambulist according to them..._"

"_... A what now..?_"

"_... It just means I sleepwalk sometimes..._" Dark explained briefly, seemingly distracted by the subject. "_... I'll end up wandering the building sometimes... Other times, I just sit up as if I were awake... Sometimes I just talk nonsense... I've been told that I even stacked cups like a pyramid once..._" Dark got less tense. "_... I thought you already knew about that, though..._"

"_... If I did, that was probably during..._" Iblis faded off the sentence before changing the subject. "_... How about we do it like this? I'll take you back down myself... I'll either carry you, or you can choose to walk down but you can hold on to me if you want..._"

"_... But what if..?_"

"_If you start to fall, pull me down with you... I'll be able to catch us both anyway..._" Iblis reassured, pulling the door open. "_Handrails exist for a reason, after all..._"

Dark looked down into the stairwell tentatively, eyes running over each visible step, his brain already providing all the horrible scenarios from a mere slip... His thinned quills would do nothing to cushion the impact... A bone would crack, maybe even break...

He stumbled back, trembling again, looking almost sick, a blank look touching his eyes.

"_I suppose we can start with me just carrying you..._" Iblis frowned slightly, catching Dark's wrist and leading him to crawl onto his back to carry him down the steps, having to encourage a scared Dark to do so. "_... But someday, you're going to have to do this on your own..._"

Dark squeezed his eyes shut and tightened his grip, almost impossible to remove now. Iblis folded his ears back.

"_... You know... You're at least taking the first step in overcoming this..._"

"_... Just g-get it over with..._" Dark moaned in dread, still shaking.

"_You got yourself up here, remember?_"

Thanks to the otherwise silent and deserted hospital halls because of the time of night, the two were able to navigate back to Dark's room without running into someone. Dark felt that he might as well have been on a slow spiraling roller coaster, with how lightheaded he was starting to feel, despite his eyes being squeezed shut.

After what felt like longer than it should have been to him, he heard: "_Well, you just survived five stories worth of stairs... How does that feel?_"

Dark shot one eye open and sure enough, he was back on the correct floor. Turning his head to look behind him, and upward, he saw the spiraling climb of steps towards the roof, and calculated that he must have made it down at least two hundred and twenty-five steps without actually passing out.

"_... Dizzy..._" He murmured, tearing his eyes away from the sight. "_Nothing to celebrate... I didn't do anything on my own..._"

"_True, but you did choose to try. That's more improvement than you think..._"

"_You're starting to sound like Mephy... Stop it._" The shadow growled bitterly as he was allowed to put his feet back on the floor so he could walk the rest of the way. "_... He'll probably never even know about this, considering you're not supposed to be here, according to everyone but us..._"

"_You're afraid of it one less degree... You'll be more willing next time to try it again, and that alone will surprise him..._" Iblis responded with a strangely cheerful approval.

Dark groaned in annoyance before frowning, twitching his nose and sneezing.

"_You can't be getting sick again, Dark!_" Iblis was quick to respond to that, grabbing the shadow's arm carefully, and starting to lead him back to his room, Dark not really putting up much protest. "_What were you thinking, standing in a half frozen puddle, anyway? Your immune system is probably not at it's best at the moment, and catching even a cold would really hurt you..._"

"_The longer I have to stay here, the less of a chance that I have to leave Mephy alone here..._"

"_That's foolish and not well thought out, you know._" Iblis reprimanded him carefully, pulling him into the room and leading him to the bed. "_Not to mention that if you're ill, you might have to be kept away from him while he's in that state, because if you pass a cold to him, it would do more harm than good... He could get a lung infection, or something like that..._"

Dark looked apprehensive at the thought.

"_... I don't want that..._" He whispered, shaking his head as he was helped back onto the bed. "_... I would not be able to live with myself if that happened..._"

"_Then the only thing I can suggest is that you just try to rest, and don't go outside like that again unless you're certain you won't get cold..._" Iblis smiled lightly as Dark settled back down.

Before he could leave, Dark quickly grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"_... Don't go... Please..?_" Dark was looking at him with his best puppy eyed look, which was surprisingly effective most of the time.

"_Dark, I can't stay here all night... It's too risky..._" Iblis tried to remind him, shaking his head. "_If someone sees me-_"

"_Can't you just change into 'Shu', then..?_"

"_There's still the matter of me having gotten into a rather secure building by myself, at this time of night, with no visible signs of forced entry, and a host of other things that would be one problem after another, if I get caught like that..._" Iblis frowned to himself.

"_At least until I fall asleep..?_" Dark pleaded desperately, biting down on his lower lip. "_... Please..?_"

"_... Oh, alright... But I have to leave for now when you do..._"

* * *

The hedgehog recognized the couch in the void right away. He was in a place he hadn't really visited in a long time... Not that there was really anything there to visit, now that Dark had long since vacated his mind...

"... Well if I'm here... Then I guess I'm not dead..." Mephiles smiled weakly in relief, taking a seat on the piece of furniture. "... Forgot how comfy this thing was..."

"_I'm sure Dark will be pleased to hear that..._"

Mephiles' eyes shot wide open, and he shouted in shock at the voice he instantly recognized, despite having not heard it in months. He immediately jumped from the couch and spun around, stepping backwards with his hands held up defensively as a response.

"What are _you_ doing here!" He shouted, seeing Iblis leaning over the back of the couch almost casually. "You're dead! Oh, no... Then that means-!"

"_It means that you're quick to jump to conclusions, really._" Iblis frowned just a little, not really Pleased at the reaction. "_Since we already know each other in some way, I don't think I need to reintroduce myself, unless you want me to..._"

"Uh... What now..?"

"_Let's try that again..._" Iblis smiled slightly, as if amused. "_Hello... I'm the person Dark has been seeing for the last two months. And by 'seeing', I mean that, by some strange reason, Dark could see me while I was on another plane of existence parallel to this one. He wasn't really hallucinating, it turns out..._"

"... Wait..." Mephiles frowned at him, lowering his arms a little. "... You really were just standing there all those times he..?"

"_Yep._"

"Then that means that you were the one who clawed his arm." Mephiles bristled his quills, glaring under his startled appearance. "When he told me not to tell anyone... That was you!"

"_I admit, that wasn't one of my better ideas..._" Iblis cringed, pulling away from the couch a little. "_I already apologized to him about that... My temper got the better of me because he was continually trying to disprove my existence, not even listening to what I had go say..._"

"I wouldn't either, after what you did to him!"

"_I don't know if this makes a bit of difference, but Dark's already started to forgive me..._" Iblis looked at the floor in shame, having expected that response. "_... Before you start on me, I've already established that I was in the wrong, that Dark never deserved any of it, and that I should expect you to judge me however you want..._"

"And just how much of it did Dark actually believe?" Mephiles was acting uncharacteristically cold, but then again, given what he had seen the fire creature do without hesitation to Dark... Can you blame him?

"_If you're implying that I made up the explanation to trick Dark... I didn't._" Iblis looked up, now wringing his hands nervously. "_... If it's not too much trouble... Perhaps you can take a moment to hear my side of things so you can see why I thought and did what I did... You're a kind enough hedgehog to at least consider..._"

"... When I see Dark again, I'm going to ask him what you told him, and I'm going to see if you changed anything at all..."

"_I don't care, as long as you hear me out..._" Iblis said, waiting for the hedgehog to allow him the option.

After a long, silent pause, Mephiles finally lowered his hands all the way and nodded shortly, saying: "Fine... But if you're lying... I'll know..."

Iblis smiled gratefully, and launched into his explanation about how, at the time of his bout of insanity, he had been under the impression that the hedgehog was trying to take Dark from him, and that, at the time, it made sense to him to do such actions. As he explained further, he offered insight about his and Dark's time as simply elements prior to being forcefully split, and how he had originally gone insane because he had protected Dark from the overwhelming force outside their little safety containment that was constantly gnawing at Iblis mind, and how he had concluded that the only way to spare Dark from that experience was to allow himself the full force of the exposure... And that doing so caused what he wanted to prevent in the first place, which was Dark going mad anyway...

"_I suppose the final straw was how he was quick to call you his brother..._" Iblis had migrated to actually sitting on the couch, head low and hands folded in his lap. "_... Imagine it like this... You have a brother... He's younger than you, but not by much. You've been with him since the first day, and you've watched him grow everyday, learning more and more, and he's always so eager to share his findings with you. As far as the both of you are aware, you two are the only things that exist in this little world of yours, and you can feel what the other does at all times. Then one day..._" Iblis sighed. "_... Something changes that world, and you find yourselves growing more and more distant every second, no matter how hard you try not to. Your brain starts giving conflicting messages to you, and you react opposite of what you intend, and now you've succeeded in terrifying him. You assume it's not your fault, because you didn't intend that, and so it must be the fault of whatever is outside..._"

"... The Disaster..." Mephiles stated slowly, piecing together the timeline. "... I remember I heard you tell Dark it was no accident, though..."

"_... Because I wanted to make it stop._" Iblis said, shaking his head. "_Those scientists were constantly sending pulses of energy at us to invoke some sort of reaction... Possibly something like Dark and my powers combined... But it was continually eating away at me... Dark was exposed less to it, which is why he took longer to lose his mind, but during what happened to me, he was constantly worried, and assumed it must have been something he had done instead..._"

"... I guess that explains his tendency to assume the worst..." Mephiles noted to the side, as if it started to make more sense to him. He shook his head lightly. "... But you still killed all those scientists by doing that... You even murdered the princess' father... Which, since I guess because he was in charge of everything there, that would kinda make him your father as well..." Mephiles added the last part as more of an observational afterthought before continuing. "... I was there too... I saw what happened to them, and not all of them died right away..."

"_I only wanted it to stop, I didn't intend to kill anyone..._" Iblis was pulling at an ear nervously.

"... And then you killed my mom, my brother and my sister..." Mephiles dropped his gaze to the dark ground, closing his fingers into lightly held fists. "... I don't know how it went down in there, but... When we went to Soleanna last time, I found their little skeletons in a corner of the room all the animals had been kept in... I don't know which one was Chinus, and which one was Ceus, because they were about the same size, but Mom was curled around them, trying to protect then from you..." He looked up, narrowed eyes brimming with tears. "... I know that you were trying to escape the lab just like Dark... But I don't understand why you chose to do that to three harmless critters... And more baffling was that they were my family..."

Iblis held his gaze for a least half a minute, looking as though he had dreaded the question ever coming up. He lowered his head and sighed dejectedly.

"_... Dark has asked me about that as well... And because of the state he was in, I avoided trying to answer because the last thing I wanted was to upset him further, considering his soft spot for creatures smaller than him..._" Iblis started, not wanting to keep eye contact. "_I told him I would explain to him further on another day, so he doesn't really know, if you intend to ask him afterwards..._" Rubbing the back of his head nervously, he continued as Mephiles held the same stare he had when he asked. "_It was purely unintentional. While you and Dark were being followed by Shadow... That other hedgehog, the white one, was following me with the same intent to seal me away as well. That room happened to have been one of the ones I was herded into, and before he caught me the first time, I flared up, trying to scare him away so I could make a run for it. It worked, but I hadn't realized he and I weren't the only ones in that room at all... Wrong place... Wrong time... I'm sorry about that, really..._"

The slight glare Mephiles had softened just a little.

"... It doesn't change that it happened..."

"_... I figured you might say that..._" Iblis sighed, tilting his head back to look upward at the nothingness. "_... Dark, however, is ever so adamant that you would be able to forgive me, even though I continually reminded him of what I have done to the both of you..._"

"... Well, I don't really hold grudges..." Mephiles admitted awkwardly. "... So, you've been with Dark the whole time he was there? How was he treated..?"

"_Not the best, but then again, not the worst I've seen..._" Iblis explained. "_The first few weeks, he was kept in a cell, but it agitated him enough that he started to inflict damage on himself out of desperate hope that he might be moved to another place entirely..._" The flame didn't look at him. "_... He had already established a conflict between himself and the thing that attacked you, and that only worsened when he tore it apart, and damaged it enough that it couldn't speak anymore. That only caused it to be more persistent in bothering him. The first day or so, he collapsed from overheating from the effort to try and break himself out, trying to get back to you, so that's why he had the collar in the first place... It keeps his body temperature at a safe degree, because he's very sensitive to heat..._"

"I saw burns on his neck..."

"_... It was also set to go off if it was tugged at, which he tried a few times, one of which purposely, and I did so once when he lost control of his powers... If you had seen it, you would have understood why!_" Iblis added quickly when he received a glare. "_He lost control at least three times there. Something like blackish, sticky but at the same time slimy oil started filling the room... And it all seemed to radiate from him. The first time, it stuck to me, and if I hadn't pulled the collar, Dark would have probably suffocated me under all that before he knew it._"

"..."

"_The second time, it slipped right off me, and made a barrier around Dark and I, which really startled him when he regained awareness... I guess Dark's afraid of the... dark... That sounds odd when you say that out loud..._"

"I kinda figured he was after a few incidents... Anything that's small, dark and closed off seems to upset him." Mephiles nodded, moving closer, as if contemplating as to whether or not he was thinking of taking a place on the couch as well, but was still nervous about who else was there. "One of the things that do, anyway. How'd you get him to calm down, then..? He'd be hysterical if he realized he was somewhere where he couldn't see at all..."

Iblis tapped beside an eye with a finger.

"_Apparently, they glow when the light dims... It does nothing for my vision, but gives enough light that Dark's eyes can work the way they do._"

"... His eyes are kinda like a cat's, I think." Mephiles nodded, looking away at nothing in particular. "His eyes are reflective in the back, and he just needs a little bit of light to use his night vision... I'm completely blind in the dark, myself, so I don't know much about how it works beyond that it's just like a cat." The hedgehog looked back. "I guess if you're a flame, then the glowing is a characteristic of yours... And since Dark is your twin, then maybe it's a natural complementary to his ability. Something like, well... Maybe to make up for what the other can't do on their own..?"

"_You know only as much as I do. I just found out I have Space powers recently, and Dark has Time... So I'm new to this..._"

"Well... Think of it like this..." Mephiles tried to explain further the best he could, summoning a small purple, misty orb in a hand. "I can make these, mainly because Dark gave me the power from being with him as one person so long. But I can only make them this big by myself... If Dark helps me, I can make them much bigger. It's one of our powers between us, and it only works best when we combine our skills..." He flicked his wrist and dissipated the orb. "... So, how did Dark react to you actually being there after all..?"

"_I think once the shock wore off, he was more than thrilled to see me actually more sane than I had been before..._" Iblis shrugged nervously. "_Are you aware that he can be very drastic when he's not thinking clearly?_"

"Yes." Mephiles said flatly without hesitation. "It scares me sometimes."

"_And he seems to have a deep rooted fear that should something happen to you, no one will even bother with him..._" The flame added, shaking his head. "_And when he find out you were still alive after being attacked, he was afraid that you decided to give up on him, and make new friends to replace him..._"

"How did-? When-? Why would he think something like that?" Mephiles stammered for a moment before getting the right words, startled at the thought. "It might have taken me a lot longer than I wanted to to find him, but the whole time, I was worried and thinking about him, and how scared he had to be and how he must have thought I was left in the snow, and how he probably assumed it was all his fault... I might have been making new friends, but most of the time, I was fretting about him too much to really enjoy myself for very long. And do you know how hard it is to find a square cantaloupe?"

"_A what now?_"

"It's Dark's favorite food in a shape he wanted me to find that I still have yet to get one to him..." The hedgehog explained briefly. "Well, there was one time, but it spoiled before he got to try it... Anyway, why would Dark think I'd do that to him?"

"_That Dire thing kept trying to drill that into his brain..._"

Mephiles looked apprehensive.

"Oh, geeze... That thing was in his head, and probably kept filling his mind up with useless scenarios, and maybe did who knows what else..." He shook his head, holding his hands to it.

"_Apparently it liked to talk a lot, because more than once, Dark would try to slam his own head into the wall or floor if I wasn't able to keep him distracted from it long enough..._" Iblis frowned, looking at the floor again. "_... And if Dark was already weak and sick from something stress related... He was making himself sick again by trying to not fall asleep, or by refusing to eat even... At least that Human had the mind to keep him from keeling over..._"

"He looked so sick and thin when I saw him, though... He looked worse than before we got separated..."

"_He's actually better than he was a couple weeks ago, though. At that time, he could hardly walk on his own without collapsing, and he had a few scary episodes, where his blood pressure dropped very low, and he had trouble breathing properly..._" Iblis explained, shaking his head again. "_Had to have something over his mouth and nose because not enough air was getting to his lungs when that happened..._"

"Oh geeze..." Mephiles shook his head slowly, tearing up a little. "... If he hadn't been separated from me, it might not have gotten that bad..."

"_... You know what? You haven't asked me at all about yourself and why we're here, have you?_" Iblis was keen to change the subject now... It was getting depressing.

"... I'm honestly more worried about Dark." Mephiles said truthfully, wringing his hands.

"_Just ask me so we can move on... It's getting to be a real downer, and all I'm managing to say is various ways of how sick Dark was without you..._" Iblis clenched his teeth. "_I think we've establish that it's a terrible ordeal, Dark is probably scarred for life more, and that creature deserves more than it got._"

"... But-"

"_You're in a coma!_" Iblis shouted over him, desperate to move to the next subject.

"... I am..?" Mephiles perked his ears forward as if he though he had misheard that detail. "... How long..?"

"_At least the last six hours so far... And no one knows when you're getting out of it._" Iblis explained, getting off the couch and stepping aside so Mephiles could sit down at a safe feeling distance. "_You lost enough blood to warrant a transfusion, and Dark is just mess over that._"

"... Wait... I'm at the hospital then?"

"_Yes, seems like Shadow and that girl got there in time thanks to that fox boy._" Iblis was smiling slightly.

Mephiles widened his eyes.

"That means that Shadow probably saw Dark with my blood all over him!" He squeaked in horror. "Oh no, that's-!"

"_Actually, things went a lot better than you would have expected._" Iblis knew what the hedgehog had been thinking. "_Shadow realized that Dark was as much a victim as you, and reassured him that nothing was going to happen to him regardless. Probably saw him more as a scared child at the moment than anything else._"

"... You're not joking, are you?" Mephiles said in disbelief, shaking his head yet again. "... Because Shadow kinda follows the 'better to assume and apologize later, than to let down your guard and pay for it' approach... Sometimes, he doesn't even apologize."

"_It's probably the best they've gotten along so far._" Iblis smiled nervously. "_The main reason for that is that they both care about you, and they both don't want to lose you. Common ground, isn't it?_"

"... Well, Shadow isn't really heartless or anything..." Mephiles agreed. "He just doesn't like what Dark used to do. I think he's got some sort of dread that Dark might lapse back into that or something, and I'll be too close. Change happens slowly in his eyes, I guess..."

"_I think you'll be pleased to hear some of the new things that's happened in the last half a day._" The flame added a little more cheerfully, sitting on the floor. "_Shadow was being more considerate to Dark, Dark didn't pitch a fit over being examined for damage like he normally would... And just between us, Dark managed to get carried down the stairs without trying to fight his way back up. I'd really like to see him get passed that fear..._"

"Wait... YOU carried him down them? How did you manage that without freaking him out, considering-?"

"_First off, it was late and not many people were around, and he managed to get himself up on the roof to look at the sky while standing in a half melted ice patch..._" Iblis said, laughing a little at the explained situation. "_I figured he wasn't going to come down the same way he got there, which was warping, because he wanted to stay there probably a good long while to be left alone and to get a chance to be outside. But it's cold, and there's snow up there, so he would have gotten sick being out too long. So, second, we managed to agree that I'd carry him down the steps if he was willing to try._"

"But _how_ did you convince him?" The hedgehog pressured. "It's almost impossible to get him near a set without him panicking and all that."

"_This has kinda been a work in progress for the last two months._" Iblis admitted. "_The first time I tried, he fainted before I could even get him on the first step. When he realized I was actually real much later, he tried to get up them without thinking clearly, and when he realized what was going on, he lost his footing and almost fell again, if I hadn't caught him. He was halfway up, in fact. But only because he panicked and tried to get away from me..._"

"Have you told him anything about why you..?" Mephiles ended the sentence in a fade, nervous about bringing the subject up.

"_Threw him..?_" Iblis cringed at the mention. "_... I've apologized repeatedly, and there was never a good reason for that... I was furious at him for telling that I was hiding in your mind at the time, when I had told him not to, and I reacted violently... I should have never done that, but I clearly was insane at the time and I deeply regret that just as much as I did for tearing his side open, and poisoning you to get to him... And stealing his cat... And... Chaos, I'm horrible..._" Iblis slapped a hand to his head and dragged it down dejectedly. "_... To be honest... He's thrilled to have me back in a manner of speaking, but he gets scared of me rather quick when I either get annoyed, or angry at something other than him. Then there was a few times where I had to try and snap him out of some sort of fit... He ended up biting down on my arm hard enough to nearly scrape bone, so I had to smack him once to snap him out of it... He promptly called me a liar for hurting him again when I had promised not to anymore..._"

"How did he end up biting you?"

"_That creature scared him badly after leaving him alone for a few days, and Dark was desperately trying to get away, even though it was what he heard in his mind..._" Iblis explained, frowning slightly. "_He was already ill, so he was having trouble moving safely to begin with, so I had wrapped my arms around him to keep him from tripping and hitting something like the side table. He must have forgotten I was there, and bit me to get free..._"

There was a pause of silence.

"_... He seems to think that you'll let me move in with you... But I've already explained to him countlessly that it's not that easy..._" He continued, shaking his head. "_One, I'm expected to everyone else to be dead... Two, while he might be willing, there's still the approval needed of the remaining inhabitants of your home... Three... If anyone has the right to say no to it, it's you, because of what I've done and caused to you..._" Iblis looked down. "_... Four... It's too complicated, and trying may result in us never seeing each other again. I tried to explain it best I could, but he's too happy to have me back... And now that you're here, I have to wonder... What happens to me when you take over as his brother again..?_"

"..."

"_... If it helps any, I can change my shape to something completely different, so no one other than the ones that know, know that it's really me..._" Iblis added in a softer tone. "_... Dark already lost me once... I really don't want him to have that happen again in any way, shape or form..._"

"..." Mephiles rotated his ears forward a little more. "... Did you really look after him during this whole thing..?"

"_Yes, of course..._" Iblis nodded, looking up. "_If I hadn't, he would have ended up harming himself from his own negligence. He was convinced for at least a month that you were dead and that it was his fault... He was close to starving himself over that._"

"... I told him not to starve himself..." The hedgehog frowned sadly.

"_And he would have pushed himself too hard if I didn't keep pestering him to take breaks and lay down when he insisted on walking around the room without pausing, when he already had trouble walking from being ill._"

"... Yeah, sounds like something he'd do. He probably kept trying to push away and do it himself?"

"_So he does that often, then?_"

"He gets embarrassed when he's having a weak moment. Sometimes, he'll hide-"

"_Under a blanket and curl up so you don't see him?_"

"I guess you've found out, then..."

"_Yeah..._"

"... Thanks for looking after him for me..." Mephiles smiled sheepishly, a little nervous still. "... I feel better knowing that he wasn't all alone this whole time, and at least had someone to talk to..."

"_How do you keep from going crazy from all the stuff he pulls?_"

"I just go with it. Sooner or later, he'll calm down and tell me what's really wrong, even if he's not clear about it..." Mephiles shrugged. "It also helps that I can 'hear' his feelings, so if he's holding back, or whatever... I'll know anyway."

"_... You really are an odd hedgehog..._"

* * *

Dark, laying on his side, felt something brush against his nose lightly, causing it to twitch, which made him ease his eyes open to the lightened room, the time clearly in the late morning.

Something dark colored was in front of his face, and it looked blurred from his eyes not adjusted to the task of seeing clearly yet.

The shape moved and Dark heard a "Mmrow!" sound that sounded unmistakably like a cat.

"_TAPE?_" Dark shoved himself up and blinked repeatedly, rubbing at his eyes to clear his vision so he could see what he hoped this sight would be.

Black with white tipped markings on his paws and face, bright yellow eyes, and medium length hair... It was his cat. Sitting on his bed. Having touched his little nose to Dark's.

The young cat immediately flopped down on his side and rolled in place, stretching his paws out to reach at Dark's hand that was bracing the shadow up, as if encouraging him to pet him. Dark could hear the purring so clearly, as if Tape was breathing in and forcing out the sound as much as possible to be are that his pleasure at being with Dark again could be heard.

"_... I haven't seen you in months..._" Dark smiled, first happy thing to happen to him in too long of time, as he reached over to gently rub under the cat's chin. "_... Somebody's been taking good care of you, I see... And here I am, an absolute mess..._"

Scooping the cat up in his arms, finding the vibration of the purring to be calming, he sat up more properly and looked around the room. A pet carrier, with the wire door open, was sitting on the floor by the door, a bowl of food and water for the feline left near it and a note stuffed under the handle.

Dark slid off the bed carefully, keeping his hold on Tape, and stepped over to the carrier to see the note, which he tugged free.

_Figured he was one of the first things you wanted to see. -Rouge_

Dark smiled feebly. Yes, true... He had wanted to see his cat after so long...

"_... Sorry it took me so long to come back..._" Dark said, knowing the cat probably didn't understand him beyond the tone he was using. "_... I'm just glad it's almost over..._"

Dark looked around for a moment and frowned slightly.

"_... I wonder if I can actually visit Mephy now..? I know he's out of it, but I can still try, right?_"

"Mew..."

"_Oh, you're so silly... You'll agree with anything I say..._"

"Mmrm..."

Dark snorted lightly and decided to step out of the room and hopefully into the room next door, where Mephiles was. He stopped before he could look at the hedgehog, freezing in place as if dreading something.

"_... What if he looks as bad as he did last night..?_" Dark bit his lip, shaking his head. "_... Like, just as pale and weak and helpless..._"

The cat just reached a paw up and batted at a fur tuft on the shadow's cheek.

Dark decided to go ahead anyway, and leaned forward to peak around the corner, because the wall window's blinds were drawn shut, so he had to look through the door.

The hedgehog was still pale, but not nearly as much as the night previous... Almost as if he had simply caught the flu and was just resting... Even though Dark knew otherwise.

The same bandaged areas, the same wires and tubes and all that, but at the very least, it seemed that the transfusion had worked and was taking to his system to strengthen his body back to normal.

Well, not completely back to normal... If that red spotted gauze taped over his left eye was to testify...

But still... Dark found some comfort in seeing that Mephiles looked even the slightest bit better than the night prior.

Tape jumped from his arms and padded his way to a chair beside the bed, sitting down on the floor and looking up expectingly. Dark had to smile at that... That cat almost seemed too smart to be just a cat sometimes.

"_... I don't see any harm in staying for a little while..._" Dark nodded lightly, stepping to the chair and taking a seat beside the bedridden hedgehog. "_... You never told me I had a transfusion too, Mephy... I guess because it was from Shadow, you figured I would have freaked out... I probably would have then, but at least I'm not dead..._" Dark started talking as Tape hopped up into his lap, earning a soft petting on his head.

Dark looked around the room, for a moment and added: "_... I'm sorry for letting myself get so sickly... I thought I lost you, and just got depressed over it, so I didn't care about much after that... Then you turned out to be okay, so I had a lot to really work at and fix... You're not upset about that, are you..? I didn't mean to get like this... It just kinda happened... Kinda quickly..._"

He didn't expect a response.

"_... I... Uh... I wish you could actually hear me..._" Dark's eyes stung a little as he carefully touched a hand to the hedgehog's still one. "_... Because I really need to hear you tell me it's going to be okay... I need to know if you're mad at me for not being able to stop Dire from hurting you..._"

Dark sniffled loudly, trying to keep his nose from dribbling.

"_... I know we're safe now, but I still feel scared..._" Dark mumbled through a stuffed sounding nose, clenching his teeth. "_... I'm scared that they'll decide that I tried to kill you and they'll take me away... I'm scared that you'll get worse and won't wake up... I'm scared that you'll hate me for letting you get hurt... I'm scared that you'll be scared of me when you do wake up..._" Dark was trembling, shaking his head. "_... I'm even scared for reasons I don't understand... I mean... Are you dreaming right now..? Are they nice..? Do you feel any of the pain you were in now..? Are you just in some dream state that you're not even aware that all happened and we're together safe and happily...? Because... My dreams are bad right now... They've been bad during this whole thing..._"

Dark blinked and something wet fell down his face.

"_... They don't even deserve to be called dreams... They're nightmares... Worse case scenarios... Bad outcomes... Is that how your visions are..? Like nightmares..?_" Dark felt Tape rub his head against him, but didn't care. "_... You hardly remember them, though... I wish I could do the same..._"

Dark shook his head slowly, looking up at the ceiling.

"_... You know I tried, right..? I tried to break free and stop him, but he had me locked down very good..._" Dark sniffled again. "_I didn't really see or hear it... But it's trapped in my mind like a bad memory, so I might as well have... If I wasn't so negative, maybe this would have never happened from the start..._"

Dark lowered his head, running a hand along the side before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"_... I love you, Mephy... I really do..._"


	54. Almost Near the End!

His brittle quills had been clipped short to prevent accidental breakage and to promote the growth of new ones to replace them. Dark felt unusually timid when the naturally twisted spines that decorated his head were reduced to stubs. At least they way it had been done drew attention away from his bald patches, but all the same, it make him appear even smaller than he normally was.

His white patch of fluffy fur on his chest was asymmetrical now, having to have a tuft of it removed due to an unruly snarl that had worked into it, while the rest was easily savable, much to his relief.

The more unsavable fur and quills removed, the more noticeable his underweight body looked. Dark drew his legs up into the examination table with him, wrapping his arms around his knees, tucking his tail close to himself and trying to hide that fact as much as possible.

"Geeze, didn't he feed you at least?" Shadow commented during the examination, Dark pulling his arm away from the doctor quickly once he heard that. "I don't think bones are even that thin."

Dark's face flushed a deep hue of red.

"_... I just didn't eat most of what I was given..._" Dark mumbled, looking at floor. "_... I either didn't like the choices, or I wasn't sure what was in it..._"

"How can you be picky if-! Oh, right..." Shadow caught himself. "... You're a vegetarian..."

"_... Even if I was starving, I wouldn't touch it..._"

"Well, considering that..." Thizon made a note on the clipboard. "And that we need to increase your protein intake to promote healthy weight gain to bring you back to your ideal body mass index... I suppose the best option then is nut based..."

"_... I like nuts..._"

He didn't really understand the strange reaction he saw from Shadow, who looked like he was trying hard not to laugh.

"Well, that's a start, then. If you like them, then you'll be more willing to eat if that's an option." Thizon nodded approvingly. "There's currently a peanut based nutritional supplement that requires little preparation, and is used to treat severe acute malnutrition in... Younger individuals such as yourself." Thizon knew enough by now that Dark highly disliked being called a "kid" or a "child" to his face, so he steered around it to avoid angering Dark, who could very well snatch the clip board out of his hands and deck him across the face with it before he even knew what he was doing. "It's a bit like peanut butter itself, and you can eat it anyway you want, even by itself."

"_... How long until..?_"

"Varies among cases, but quickly enough." The doctor assured. "Usually, regimen lasts two months, so in less time it took for you to get this thin, it'll have brought you to the ideal weight for someone of your stature."

Dark smiled feebly, as if embarrassed about all of it.

"_... I'd very much like that..._" He said in a soft voice, nodding slowly. "_... Would... Uh, it'd stop my quills from breaking, too... Won't it..?_"

"If you continue to maintain a proper intake of nutrients even after the regimen is completed, that would be the first step." The doctor nodded. "I would also suggest practicing better care to them, and work on reducing stressors, as that can be a factor as well to brittleness, breakage, splitting and falling out."

Dark curled his fingers against the table, looking down again. He wasn't very good at maintaining good routines, and it would be difficult to get into such a habit. Prior to the time when his quills and fur started to reflect his poor condition... They simply were perfect without needing to try, because he reflected Mephiles' appearance... Before he managed to become an individual separate from the hedgehog.

Not anymore, it seems. He was going to have to learn how exactly Mephiles managed to keep his fur and quills so well groomed and fluffy...

**You're not supposed to be fluffy!** That second voice in the back of his head snapped at him.

_... Can't help it if I look like Mephy..._ He countered back smugly, smirking on the inside. _... Better fluffy than bald..._

* * *

A shrill shriek echoed down the currently empty halls, followed by another, then another just the same, perhaps shorter than it's company.

Upon hearing the sound, a nurse on the overnight shift quickly scanned her eyes across the monitors for any signs of vitals being in severe distress from an inpatient, but everyone, even the child hedgehog in a coma, checked out alright.

Another screech reverberated off the walls, and the fluffy white cat realized she recognized _that_ particular tone, having heard the owner of it during one harrowing night in which nearly all the staff present in the building had heard the scream for help prior to one of the worst accidents to ever occur in the building... The pre-earthquake version, at least. She herself had tended to the patient before on countless occasions including that one, so she was well accustomed to identifying him among the numerous other regular patients at the Westopolis City Hospital.

The nurse, named Silvia, headed for room one-nine-six and immediately realized the situation. The one nearly identical to the child in a coma, was having what appeared to be a nightmare, or it could even a night terror.

Recalling what had been reported as to why Dark had been admitted to the hospital in the first place, and what had occurred as the related events... It was not a great surprise if Dark was indeed having parasomnial disturbances. She was well aware of Dark's general high and mighty attitude coupled with his general dislike of all things medicinal and scientific, as well as his extreme loyalty to the poor hedgehog in a coma... And what was rumored to have happened to him in the recent months would be enough to shatter even the toughest facade.

However, Dark was known for having claws that rivaled even the sharpest of scalpels, and teeth that could easily chew clear to the bone, and worse yet... Was known to use either one of them when he was greatly upset and desperate to get away. And those psychic shadow powers he possessed were not to be taken lightly, especially when they were controlled by emotion most of the time.

It would be far easier to calm a rabid Tasmanian Devil, and perhaps safer, even. At least you might still make it out with your arms still intact...

But, as a nurse, Silvia was both contractually and morally obligated to assist any distressed patient, no matter how dangerous their natural defenses were. It was all part of being a Mobian, after all, to have natural defenses. Hedgehogs and porcupines had stiff quills and, like armadillos,could curl into balls, cats had claws and teeth, the dwindling echidnas had sharp digging claws and enhanced strength... And Dark could do all of that as well...

Turning her head cautiously to look back at the counter area where the computers and communication devices were located, she considered at the very least calling for help from her colleagues, likely taking a break in the lower floors. Dark was highly likely to react primally at this, as he never seemed to handle stressing matters very well...

Stepping over carefully to retrieve the two way handheld radio from the desk, she paused and realized the cries had calmed down considerably, if not for a few whimpers. Hand still grasping the walkie talkie, Silvia walked back to the doorway quietly, and leaned in, seeing Dark still sound asleep, but features more relaxed and less upset, as if he had settled down on his own.

Perplexed at the seemingly resolved issue, the nurse still held onto the device in case it escalated again, watching the child carefully before returning back to the monitor out of sight of the room to observe the other overnight patients' vital readings.

Once the room was left alone, Dark started to stir again, moaning weakly in distress as his face scrunched into an expression that clearly said his nightmare was returning slowly. Before the sound of his cries could even become loud enough to be heard beyond the open door of the room, a hand gently placed itself on his head, lightly stroking it, causing him to quiet down and subconsciously react by leaning towards the source of comfort, exhaling softly.

* * *

A week had passed, and though there was promising signs of improvement in Mephiles, he had yet to even flutter his eyelids.

This was quite the troubling fact for Dark. He knew that every second the hedgehog spent unresponsive... A minute at most would be spent later in a state of post traumatic amnesia. Dark was very well aware of the general pattern of after coma recovery time... Not to mention the raising possibility that certain simple function skills would have to be relearned, or that certain thing may never be the same, the longer Mephiles spent under like that.

_... Maybe his healing abilities would even the odds in his favor..?_ Dark hoped desperately, turning the page of the book he was hardly even reading anyway as he sat in a chair beside the bed.

"Oh, you're still here..?"

Dark looked up to see Shadow in the doorway.

"_... Yeeeeessss..._" Dark dragged the word out through his teeth as if to suggest that it would be foolish to think he would be anywhere else at this time.

"... It's just that... You've kinda been sitting there for hours, and you haven't bothered to even eat anything."

"_... What time is it?_" Dark closed the book with his thumb still in between the pages he had left off at, and looked a little confused.

"Almost three."

"_... I've been sitting here for five hours, then..._" Dark blinked. "_... Strange, I didn't even notice..._"

"You can't expect to get any less frail if you keep skipping out on your food." Shadow shook his head, looking behind him for a moment out of the room.

"_... I haven't been hungry..._"

"I honestly find that baffling..." Shadow raised his eyebrows.

"_I don't eat much to begin with... And as of late, I'm finding it less of a priority than... Well..._"

"You'll have a heart attack if you keep that up, y'know?" Shadow directed his attention at Dark's book. "Starving yourself like that, running yourself ragged... You're putting a lot of stress on your body..."

Shadow could have sworn he heard Dark mumble: "_... What do you care..?_", but Dark quickly shook his head and opened his book again.

"_... I'm not leaving him alone..._" Dark said aloud instead, not looking up, but ears drooping slightly.

"I could watch after him for you while you do."

Dark closed the book and looked up again.

"_How old do you think I am?_" He frowned, having disliked the ton the previous words had been said in.

"Well, I _know_ that you're not much younger than Meph... And he's about eleven." Shadow shrugged, smirking slightly. "And I know exactly when your 'birthday' is-"

"_It's not a birthday!_" Dark shouted over him, suddenly appearing livid. "_There was nothing joyous about that event! I was not 'born', I was thrown into existence in this world by an unstable reaction! It's not a birthday! It'll never be a birthday! I do not have a birthday and I never will!_"

"..." Shadow blinked, lowering his arms he had brought up as soon as Dark started shouting. "... Then how in the world do you expect us to properly gauge how old you are if there is no day to count from?"

Dark stared blankly before gritting his teeth.

"_It's not important. It's not like anyone would even care about a birthday if I had one. Let's just agree my birth year is nineteen-ninety-six, and do the math from there. I'm eleven. No more. No less. Just eleven._"

"And I'm over fifty. Do I look it?"

"_... Uh... No... Not really..._"

"Good. Now go eat something."

"_Y-you can't tell me what to do!_" Dark shouted angrily, surprised that he was being practically being commanded.

"Actually..." Shadow had that slight cocky smirk he often had when preparing to one up someone, and was leaning against the doorframe with a finger pressed to his cheek in mock thought. "As far as anyone is concerned or knows of, Rouge and I are essentially your legal guardians according to our laws here, so technically, I can tell you what to do if it's in your best interest..."

There was a long hesitation from Dark before he managed: "_... B-But... Mephy..?_" Looking at said hedgehog apprehensively.

"He'll be fine even if you leave him for a few minutes."

Dark was still hesitant. He gripped the book tighter, almost bending the hardback cover.

"_... But what if he wakes up, and I'm not here for it..?_"

"... You honestly think we wouldn't tell you right away?" Shadow blinked in confusion. "I can't be that cruel, am I?"

Dark shook his head slowly, biting his lower lip anxiously before hesitantly standing up from the chair and awkwardly stepping passed Shadow, looking back at Mephiles at least twice before he got out the door, clutching the book in his hands tightly.

Once Dark was out of sight, Shadow took the chair by Mephiles, having to snort faintly to himself over what just happened.

"... Dunno what it is about you..." He shook his head and muttered to the comatose hedgehog, half aware that it was likely his words were falling on deaf ears anyway. "... But you can really change someone's heart, Meph... He's hardly anything like he was half a year ago..."

Smiling faintly, Shadow placed a hand on the unconscious hedgehog's forehead.

"... You're missing out on some neat things, y'know? You need to wake up soon, we all miss you..."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Dark was back in the doorway, appearing startled beyond a reasonable doubt, as if he had just crawled away from something unscathed. He was leaning against the frame and staring blankly ahead as well.

"Good lord, what happened to you?" Shadow stood up, realizing Dark was trembling, pale and sweaty, holding the book still in his hands, but the cover was now bent in half. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

Dark flinched, as if he just realized Shadow was there. Then he slowly lifted the book in front of him, laughing weakly as if he just couldn't believe whatever luck he stumbled upon.

"_... The stairs..?_"

"Yes..?"

"_... You know the stairs, right..?_"

"Yes..." Shadow said slowly, wondering where Dark was heading. "What about them..?"

"_... Decided to take them over the elevator... Claustrophobic, remember..?_"

"Okaaay..."

"_Made it down to the cafeteria after a while... Wasn't too bad..._"

"... That's good, isn't it..?"

"_Not finished. Let me talk._" Dark frowned before continuing. "_Tried to walk back up... Slipped halfway. Fell..._"

"Are you alright?" Shadow said quickly, recalling Dark's last tumble down a set of steps while at this hospital. The last thing anyone needed right now was for Dark to injure himself again, especially seriously. "I didn't hear you shout or anything! When-!"

"_Let me finish!_" Dark snapped back before continuing. "_Fell... And this thing shielded me... Every step! Hah... Imagine that! Lucky! Me? What's the chances?_"

Dark continued to snicker faintly, rolling his eyes upward and to the side, dragging a hand down his cheek, genuinely tickled by such an idea.

"..."

"_... You can talk now..._"

"... Well, then. Uh... That's fortunate for you to not get hurt..." Shadow blinked, rubbing his head and wondering how that all happened without the slightest bit of noise.

"_... I-I'm gonna go lie down now..._" Dark nodded weakly before dropping the book at his feet and sliding to the floor, still giggling. "_... Right a-after I s-sit down here f-for a while..._"

"... Why didn't you take the elevator, then?"

"_... No one else was on it... Felt too small..._"

Shadow was about to question it, before remembering that Dark was claustrophobic as well. The more he thought about the situation, the more he felt like he probably should have just gone with him instead of sending him to the cafeteria on his own. But, then again... who was going to stay with Mephiles while that happened? Rouge was at work today, and Dark had fussed over the young hedgehog being left alone, so this had been a tough choice to begin with...

"... Next time, just tell me what you want, and I'll just pick it up for you."

"_... What..? Think I can't do it by myself..?_" The faintest of glares were worked into Dark's features.

"Naw, not that... It's just that that could have ended a lot worse than it did." Shadow shook his head, frowning. "... We don't need you in a coma, too."

"_... I'm so shaken by that slip, that I can hardly think of a clever snap back at you..._" Dark snorted, looking up at Shadow with half closed eyes, one drooped more than the other. He bit back an awkward grin. "_... I'll just assume you were merely commenting on a concern for my safety... How lovely..._"

"... Y-yeah... Just... Watch out, next time..."

* * *

It was now week two of the waiting for Mephiles to wake up. Even though Dark was given the okay to be taken back home with the promise of weekly check ups until completely recovered, Dark refused to the point of actually physically fighting back on account of him not wanting to leave Mephiles alone.

When Shadow and Rouge both arrived for the daily visitation, they found a bluish colored cat with lighter blue paws, lighter blue tipped tail, a white chest and a pale cream colored muzzle curled on the bed beside Mephiles, arms stretched out and reaching across the white chest fluff, and head resting on it as well. The right ear was torn as if bitten into.

Aside from the obvious telltale colors... The thin appearance and patchy fur gave away that it was Dark, and that he must have used Tape's shadow to gain this form.

"What are you doing?" Questioned the hybrid hedgehog.

Bright green eyes revealed under the eyelids as they lifted lazily to the voice. Stretching and yawning in such a way that only a cat could, Dark pulled away from Mephiles, hopped onto the floor, and in a puff of purple mist... He was sitting on the floor in his normal the same way he had as a cat, looking disgruntled at having been awakened.

"_... It's easier to sleep there..._" He mumbled, stretching his legs out from the crouched position to sit normally as he lifted an arm above his head to stretch those muscles as well, trying to stifle another yawn. "_... I'm close... I can hear him... I can sense everything being alright..._" He relaxed a bit more and looked up at the bed. "_... They go 'way 'round him..._" He added quietly.

"What does what now?"

"_... Not really important..._" Dark shook his head quickly. "_... Still tired... What time is it..?_"

"It's half after noon." Rouge said, setting a bag down on the countertop surface by the door. "How long were you asleep?"

"_... Probably a couple of hours, then..._" Dark nodded lazily for no real reason. "_... Couldn't sleep last night..._"

It was obvious that Dark needed the sleep anyway. Even with it being the second week since being rescued, he had yet to catch up on it adequately enough, and though the darkness under his eyes had gotten a little lighter, he still had a long way to go.

"... We could come back later if you like."

"_... No, no... M'fine... M'fine..._" Dark mumbled, waving his hand halfheartedly, and then attempting to pick himself up off the floor, only to start to wobble unsteadily halfway up.

"We'll just come back later, _you_ need to rest." Rouge pointed out, her and Shadow both standing by in case Dark started to topple dangerously.

Dark caught himself and managed to lower himself back to the floor to sit, leaning against the bed, and blinking slowly.

"_... Huh..?_" He looked up at them in confusion. "_... Didn't hear that... Ears got all muffled allovasudden..._" The last set of words slurred a little from lack of effort to annunciate them properly.

After much convincing to get him to do so, Dark finally, though half asleep doing so, agreed on the request and shifted back into the cat form, stretching his paws up lazily in a weak effort to jump back onto the bed from the floor, as he didn't seem to possess the cognitive skill at the moment to perform such a simple task. A feeble feline cry issued from him as he peddled his back feet, but couldn't seem to get the springing action that cats could do.

He didn't seem to object to being lifted off the floor, feet and tail dangling by simple gravity as he was set on the bed next to the hedgehog.

Without even bothering to look at the visitors, cat Dark flopped on his side, twisting his body around until he was on his back, paws curled to his chest, tail and back legs stretched out leisurely, and head resting up against Mephiles, purring quite loudly once he was comfortable.

Maybe it was their imaginations... But one could easily swear they saw the faintest of twitches in the comatose hedgehog's cheek...

* * *

Two days later, Mephiles' eyes lifted open just halfway, appearing as if he wasn't even focusing at all on what was in front of or around him.

It reminded Dark so much of when he had gotten the head injury from the robot that had attacked them... When Mephiles' eyes were open, but not seeing anything at all...

Dark quickly felt sick at the memory, and shakily excused himself from the room as the hedgehog's reactive reflexes were tested, to find the restroom on account of feeling like he had at least a seventy-five percent chance of puking as a response...

Trying hard to counter it, he filled a sink with cold water and splashed his face with it, panting roughly as he tried to calm down.

_... If there was ever a good time for Iblis to show up... Now would be it..._

Dark trembled, bracing himself against the sink. He couldn't understand why his body was reacting in such a way.

_... It's supposed to be a good thing that he's started to open his eyes..._ He tried to reason with himself, gripping his hands behind his ears, digging his fingers in. _... But why am I so scared..? At least he's alive, and it shows that he's recovering... Oh... Oh, God..._

Dark's face paled more than normal, pupils shrinking as his eyes opened wide, a hand flying to his mouth as his cheeks puffed, moaning weakly as sweat started to coat his shivering body...

Shoving away from the sink frantically, he spun around and managed to make it to the toilet to throw up, body shaking feverishly now after he was finished, the shadow gasping harshly to catch his breath.

Wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, he stumbled to his feet and back to the sink to rinse his mouth to rid the foul aftertaste from it, grumbling under his breath about how ridiculous it was for him to be overreacting like that. There was nothing to worry about, Mephiles was being taken care of, and everything was going to be fine...

_He's going to hate me for hurting him! He's going to hate me for hurting him! He's going to wake up and he's going to hate me for hurting him!_

This had quickly blared through his mind without a second's pause. He fought the strong urge to bash his head into the mirror to block it, knowing that once it was found out as to what he did to himself, he'd be put under closer surveillance than normal, as if they'd assume that he was trying to purposely injure himself just to stay at the hospital...

Feeling an uncomfortable knot make itself known in his stomach, he slid to the cold tiled floor, tilting his head back and slumping against the wall.

A sharp knock on the door made him jump, instinctively drawing himself into a half curled shivering ball as he stared at the door with wide eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" Shadow's voice sounded off (presumably he was there because Rouge wouldn't be able to do much, being of a different gender, therefore Dark was able to hide in a bathroom from someone like her). "You kinda disappeared there when they started to check his reflexes..."

"_... F-fine..._" Dark lied pathetically, not sounding at all convincing.

"You didn't look fine." Shadow's voice sounded like he wasn't fooled. "In fact, you looked more like you were going to-"

"_Fine! You got me!_" Dark shouted over him angrily, voice echoed a little from the room he was in. "_I felt like I was going to vomit, and you know what! I did! I just did! Happy now!_"

A pause of silence, followed by a loud **CLICK!** and then the door was pushed open carefully, a red striped, black spiky quill covered head peered in cautiously.

"... Geeze, you're not kidding... You look pretty sick..." Shadow pointed out carefully, surprised at how fast Dark had gotten ill in a matter of minutes.

"_Oh, really? I couldn't tell!_" Dark snapped irritably, feeling rather uncomfortable and not in the mood to keep himself and his rudeness in check. "_I mean, I thought so after I just puked up the food I ate earlier, but I figured, naw, I might have been over thinking things a little! OF COURSE I'M FEELING SICK!_" Dark shouted the last part, before paling again, quickly clapping both hands to his mouth as his pupils contracted and he groaned loudly in discomfort, trembling again.

Sensing the reasoning was not because of a virus, nor was it something that didn't agree with Dark's stomach, Shadow quickly concluded that it must be because the creeping realization of the state Mephiles was in, and that it would long well enough before things were even remotely back to normal... That, or something about seeing the hedgehog in an unresponsive trance really shook Dark to his core...

"... If he's starting to open his eyes, it means he's starting to regain awareness around him..." Shadow tried to reassure, knowing that Dark, brilliant mind that he was, could easily debunk that statement right away with cold hard fact anyway. "... It's more than it's been for the past two weeks, at least. He doesn't respond to his name or questions yet, but the only thing that seems to get even the slightest reaction is your name."

Dark stiffened, pulling his hands away slowly, before muttering with a slight glare: "_... Why... in the w-world would you t-test that... Using m-my name..?_"

"Because all he fretted about the last two and a half months was you. If he's going to be having some amnesia about what happened, he's going to still be worrying about where you are." Shadow explained, cringing at the annoyed look Dark gave. "... As far as we know, he could still think you're still being held captive, if you're right about him possibly having no memory of what happened to him when he first wakes up. Every time he checked in with us when he was with Sonic, he would take up most of the conversation musing about you and how you must be, having been that long and far away from him. You were on his brain a lot..."

"_Sh-shut up!_" Dark snapped in harsh tone, voice cracking and eyes glistening as he gripped behind his ears again, rocking slightly. He whimpered in a softer voice, but still sounded equally upset. "_Just... Sh-shut up... It's not making me f-feel any b-better... Oh, Chaos... Oh, God... _I sh-should have tr-tried harder..." His voice raised several pitches, as if strained and cracked now. He curled inward more, and would have been a ball of quills, had he actually had enough to spread out.

He uttered a sound of aguish, trembling and dragging his claws down the side of his head, breaking skin in a few areas, and causing thin trailing dribbles of blood to slide down behind his fingers. He showed no indication that he was even aware that he was doing that.

Awkwardly caught in the middle of this, Shadow bit his lower lip, trying to figure out how to help counter a possible freak out. It was no hidden thing by now that Dark experienced bouts of what could only be described as "tantrums", and not necessarily the temper kind, when distressed.

Anything could happen.

The lights above could explode.

The room could shake.

He could start screaming at the top of his lungs, SpinDashing into furniture, tearing apart the wallpaper with his bare hands, grabbing and throwing any and everything he could get his hands on, maybe even tear it in half as his pent up energy his body made caused him to be a living live wire, his Aura exploding in a fierce barrier around his form, unable to be grabbed and comforted until he wore down and calmed on his own.

Or he could simply drop to the floor in a heap, wailing like his heart was breaking, flailing and writhing at any touch that made contact with him, inconsolable to anyone other than Mephiles himself.

Shadow hesitated, waiting to see what direction this would follow. Instead, much to his relief at the simplicity, Dark merely collapsed in an exhausted pile of hedgehog shaped shadow creature, having seemingly fainted from the nerve wracking stress he was under. Good... At least he wasn't blindly attacking anything that came near...

Crouching down to be more level with him, Shadow cautiously reached over to nudge Dark's shoulder with a hand, trying to determine the level of consciousness enough to decide whether or not he needed to carry the young element back to his room, or if he could simply instruct him to get to his feet and be led there.

When his hand made contact, Dark just moaned discontentedly, halfheartedly pulling away, but otherwise seeming like he didn't care.

"Hey? Can you stand?"

Dark didn't respond beyond reaching up to shove the hand away, grunting weakly with his eyes still closed.

"If you can hear me, I'd like you to try to stand so I can take you back to your room..." Shadow tried again, but Dark didn't bother to try. "... Alright, then... If you get mad, it's your own fault..."

Several minutes later, he met up in the hall on the way back with Rouge, who had wondered where the two of them had gone off to. Looking at the listless form in the hybrid hedgehog's arms, she inhaled sharply, wondering what had happened, as she could clearly see that Dark was pale and sickly again, as well as several clawlike scratches were visibly under his thin and clipped quills.

"... What happened to him?"

"... Not quite sure, even though I saw most of it..." Shadow admitted, stepping towards the room. "... If I had to take a wild guess, I'd say he just freaked out pretty badly."

"He looks like he could be sick at any moment..."

"He already did." Shadow looked away awkwardly, stepping into the room with Rouge walking beside him. "... That's why he ran off in the first place. I don't think he could handle seeing Meph like that for very long..."

"I did notice him looking like it was bothering him..." The bat nodded in agreement as Dark was carefully placed on the bed, rolling over on his side and curling up. "... Why was his head bleeding?"

"He kind of clawed himself when he was freaking out." Shadow explained briefly. "I don't think he realized he was actually doing that, though, so I doubt it was intentional. How did the rest of the reflex tests go?"

"... He's still a ways away from waking up completely. But when they tried to pinch at his fingers, he did pull back just a little to try to get them free." There was a hint of a smile in her voice. "So at the very least, he can feel a little again."

"Really? That's great!" Shadow grinned back. "I can bet that his healing ability is part of the reason this is going on so fast compared to to other people's comas."

* * *

In the middle of the night, Dark had snuck back into Mephiles' room, taking the cat form again and nestling between the space of the hedgehog's body and arm.

The room next door felt so empty and lonely at night, just wide open enough to let bad dreams find their way to him, and cruelly rob him of the comforting rest he desperately wanted. He hated the bad dreams. Often, they were surreal, but occasionally, they'd seem real enough that when he woke, he had to force himself to realize that the world is still alright around him. It never happened... It was just his brain playing terrible games with him.

Even if Mephy was still unconscious and unaware that he was there, at least he could take solace that the both of them were not all by themselves at night in an otherwise silent and seemingly empty sounding hospital.

If the hedgehog suddenly regained awareness in the middle of the night, the shadow wanted to be sure that the hedgehog did not feel lonely, scared, confused, and upset to wake up in a dark room that was clearly not home. He was determined to make sure that didn't happen...

Besides... He could sleep better when he was near Mephy. He couldn't explain it, but something about being near the hedgehog created a barrier for bad dreams and thoughts around them. Maybe it was because he felt safer around Mephy, or maybe it was because he could rest easy knowing Mephy was right where he could find him...

_... I just wish you'd be alright soon..._ Dark thought to himself, shifting to rest his head against the hedgehog's body. _... If it's possible, I really miss you, even though I see you everyday..._ He nudged his head against the hedgehog gently. _... And whatever you do... Don't hate me... It wasn't me who hurt you so badly..._

* * *

It wasn't long until that cat woman, Shela, had gotten wind of the state the two boys were in. Dark immediately dreaded the impending "visit", as though a sort of doom was encroaching worse than he had seen before.

"Hello, Dark... It's been a while since we've last seen each other..."

_Yeah... When you made sure I was handcuffed to the bed to keep me from running..._ Dark wanted to say, but instead, he bared his teeth and growled dangerously.

The cat drew back only a little, still keeping that falsely sweet smile on her face.

"I'd like to ask you a few questions about what happened to Mephiles, if that's alright with you..."

"_No._"

"Excuse me?"

"_No, it's not alright._" Dark folded his arms and continued to glare. "_In fact, I'd like it very much if you closed the door... from the other side._"

Shela blinked and leaned forward to be able to say in a lower tone: "Listen. If you can't explain what happened to him, or how it couldn't have been you-"

"_Go ask Shadow or Rouge! They know it just as well as me!_" Dark snapped, feeling harassed. "_The last thing I want to do is even think about it! You have no idea what I went through!_" He flipped a chair to the floor between them, creating a makeshift barrier between the cat and the shadow. "_And you! You'll just take things out of context and use it against me! Get out of here, now!_"

"Well... Someone is feeling a bit aggressive today..." Shela's eyes seemed to glitter at the thought. "How often would you say that happens to you-?"

"_No! I refuse to answer any of your questions while no one else can see us!_" Dark barked, taking a step back, towards the bed the hedgehog was in. "_You've had it out for Mephy and me since you met us! You're just convinced that we're crazy and need to be put away!_"

Dark's shouts of anger did not go unnoticed.

"How did you get in here?"

This was probably the second to best time Dark had ever been so pleased to see Shadow. Dark glanced at Shela and smirked faintly.

"_She won't leave me alone..._" Dark explained, sounding partly distressed. "_She wants to ask me about what happened with Mephy... And I don't want to even think about it..._"

"I have to agree with him... It's not exactly something anyone wants to discuss this soon after..." Shadow nodded slowly, looking at the cat. "We have the situation under control, and everything is being taken care of."

"And what do you plan on doing about tha-?"

"_I'm right here, y'know!_" Dark interjected angrily. "_If you must use a pronoun for me, use 'he', not 'that' or 'it'!_"

"If you mean what we are going to do with _him_, we plan on taking him back home with Meph when he wakes up." Shadow gave his well known glare.

"Are you sure it's wise to keep them together after they both have seriously injured the other already?"

"_Now wait just a-!_" You guys know the drill... It's two consecutive ones this time. "_-Minute!_" Dark snapped backed furiously. "_Mephiles has _never _hurt me before! He would never do that! And I did not do this to him!_"

"Unless you can prove that your claws do not match the wounds-"

"You know, ma'am, I believe this could count as harassment." Shadow pointed out. "First off, he's a minor, so he doesn't have to answer anything without having someone present who is his guardian. Secondly, I believe it's not a good idea to make him have to recount any of that this soon after the event. And third... This is not the first time you've cause trouble with him."

"I'm merely doing my job. He's the one who insists on making it difficult."

"_I don't like you._" Dark stated bluntly, annoyed that his quills were too short to bristle effectively. "_Usually, one can tell of I dislike anyone in any way, but you... I feel like I have to say it to drive it further. I. Don't. Like. You._"

"I'm gonna have to side with him on that one..." Shadow nodded, stepping over to be on the side of the room with the other two hedgehog creatures. "I suggest you leave now before we bring this to someone else's attention..."

"I wonder how long you can keep this up..." Shela added with a serious undertone. "... Before something worse than _that_happens?" She gestured to the unconscious laying in the bed. "They are clearly a danger to each other, and it's only a matter of time before the danger either spreads out or worsens."

"Lady, you have no idea what you're talking about." Shadow said calmly before Dark, who was sputtering angrily, could. "The real danger is separating them, because they depend on each other in ways impossible to explain. Have you even bothered to take a look at their conditions? The one you're heckling has been forcibly isolated from both the one laying in that bed and the rest of the world for a little over two months."

"_... Shadow..?_" Dark now sounded like he was asking desperately. "_... Just drop it..._"

"I'm only going to run down a stripped outline of things..." Shadow didn't even look at him. "If you recall, that influence from Dark Gaia was attacking selected people, and he was one of the unfortunate ones. A little monster in the back of his mind, with complete access to his brain, his thoughts, his memories, even the way his brain processed information. Like a computer virus, but designed for the brain."

"Are you suggesting that he had not control over the action?" The cat said skeptically. "Because, if I recall, that was your explanation for when the other one attacked him instead."

"_... Shadow, seriously... Just drop it..._" Dark wanted the conversation over before they treaded into territory that really unnerved and upset him.

"I've seen the little monster that caused this. And I can describe each one of it's spines, the color of it's eyes, the material of it's claws, and the tone of it's voice." Shadow half closed his eyes and folded his arms. "All down it's back, purply, nail-like and high pitched and annoying. Last I checked, Dark doesn't fall under any of that."

"And did you witness the event yourself, then?"

"Eh, no..."

Dark felt like his heart had dropped and settled like a lead weight in stomach. He knew that Shadow would not have been able to argue his case to begin with, and had wished for the discussion to have ended before it had gotten two sentences in.

"Then how can you be certain that 'creature' is responsible?"

Shadow reached into his quills and pulled out what appeared to be a shiny piece of plasticlike paper. Dark frowned in confusion. How was that going to help matters..?

"Because there was a witness. And while Meph was with Sonic..." Shadow waved the paper between them. "They had a camera. It was specially designed and modified by a particular Professor from Spagonia... Pickle, I believe... To extract little creatures like the one that infected Dark. And, because of this being a camera, it was able to obtain a snapshot of the exact moment the creature was being extracted from Dark."

Dark himself stiffened. He had no idea about the image, nor was he aware that it had been kept for the past two weeks plus... And why it was kept in Shadow's quills, he could not bend his mind around that strangely convenient fact.

He couldn't hear what was being said, however, as his hearing suddenly started to sound muffled. At first baffled by this, it was a slight familiar buzzing sensation in his head that tipped him off as to what was starting up. Darting his eyes instinctively to the colorful flickers of light in his vision, he quickly concluded to himself that a migraine was about to make itself known.

_... Now..? Really..? Will they ever go away..?_ He asked himself grimly, long since sick of the ailment. _... At least I have an excuse to get away from her... Oh, Chaos... Hate this part..._

Dark, who had steadily grown paler in a matter of minutes, quickly clutched a hand to the left side of his forehead, stifling a cry of discomfort as he leaned against the bed frame to catch himself before he had a chance to collapse.

It was not a particularly horrendous migraine, and certainly not the worst he had experienced before, but it stung all the same, making him feel as if he had just stood up too quickly from the floor and knocked his head into an open drawer or cupboard door above him.

Shadow noticed this first, seeing that Dark's face was scrunched up in some form of pain, and was quick to announce to the cat: "I think it's time you left." before he stuffed the picture back in his quills, and attempted to reach out to Dark to escort him to the other bed in the the room, as it seemed almost cruel to have to force him to walk the short distance between the rooms to get to his own, having to pass through the brightly lit hallway to do so.

Dark would have been grateful for the consideration, had he not been concerned with the single, simple thought of "... Don't move... It'll only get worse if you do..."

Not entirely sure of how much time passed before he realized he was curled up on a bed, Dark simply tried to take comfort in knowing that he was going to be left alone for the next several hours.

_... How oddly convenient..._

* * *

Another week passed before anything worth noting had happened.

Dark had been in his now used nearly everyday cat form, resting on his back, nestled close to the hedgehog, when it happened.

A shift of the arm muscles, causing something to brush against the fur.

Dark snapped his eyes open and lifted his head, and found that the hedgehog's arm had moved to rest the hand against his own chest.

Dark wasted no time in hopping to the floor and taking his normal form beside the bed, half excited and half terrified.

He was extremely joyous and relieved that this had happened. It meant that Mephiles was going to wake up soon, and he was starting to absentmindedly move around before then.

On the other hand, Dark was also nervous and apprehensive. No one knew to what extent the extended time under was going to have on the hedgehog's brain, as well as the clarity of his memories and whether or not he now believed that Dark had injured him so badly, as Dark's face was among the last he saw before he lost consciousness.

_... He could either wake up happy to see me... Not knowing who I am... Or scared out of his mind at the sight of me..._ Dark shuddered at the thought, feeling a chill slide down his spine.

It was probably a long, tense hour until he was granted an answer to the musing. It was at least a half an hour before Shadow and Rouge were going to show up, as it was nearly visiting hours, and Dark wasn't sure if it was a good or bad thing that he was going to be the first one Mephiles saw.

Dark braced himself, ready to jump back as far as he needed to if the hedgehog started to scream in terror, but stayed close enough that he could quickly wrap his arms around him carefully if he appeared overjoyed to see Dark again...

Dark could swear his heart skip three beats total when the eyes fluttered open with more clarity than they had done so the week previous. Mephiles was clearly aware that he was somewhere, as he stared upward at the ceiling, no doubt baffled by it, as he had yet to become familiar with the new hospital building.

"... I don't know this ceiling..." He whispered in a soft voice.

Dark couldn't help but snort a little in amusement at the non sequitur response the hedgehog gave upon finding out about his new situation.

Mephiles' ears twitched at the sound, and his eyes found Dark before he could turn his head fast enough, still trying to regain muscular function.

Dark froze, eyes wide, heart beating quickly, breathing pattern becoming rapid. This moment was going to decide just how things were going to be...

Dark found himself cowering, stepping back and away from the hedgehog. He had weighed his outcomes, and a lot of it seemed to bank on the less pleasant ones happening more than the good ones.

"_... I-I understand if you h-hate me now..._" Dark stammered quickly before he could stop himself, looking at the floor instinctively, trembling a little as his eyes stung and vision blurred. "_... I-if you th-think I d-didn't tr-try hard enough... Or th-that I might have j-just given up... I underst-stand..._"

"..."

"_..._"

"... Why would I hate you..?"

Dark looked up quickly enough that you could almost hear the bones in his neck pop.

"_... B-because I c-couldn't st-stop him..._" Dark stuttered, cursing inwardly at the dribbly nose he now had.

Mephiles tried to sit up more properly, but was still too weak to support his own weight. He remained as he was, and the annoyance at that was clear in his expression briefly.

"... He was just too much for either of us to handle..." The hedgehog stated plainly, not seeming the least bit resentful of his "brother". "... He was a horrible little monster... Not you..." Seeing that the shadow had tears sliding down his cheeks, he added with a concerned frown: "... Why are you crying..? We're alive... He's gone... It's over... What's wrong..?"

"I-I don't know!" Dark's voice lost the growl again, and he sounded very conflicted on the inside about all this. "I mean, I'm h-happy you're alright now, and you d-don't hate me, and-! And-! And I-I been here all month w-waiting for you t-to wake up! But-!" Dark wiped at his nose and eyes quickly. "I st-still feel like it was m-my fault in th-the first place! And-! And-!" He couldn't seem to finish his words, but was continually tapping his fingers over his left eye as if to try and indicate something.

Hesitantly, Mephiles reached over to his own eye, the one that he recalled had been slashed at, and felt his fingers along the skin surrounding it, feeling a slight depression in a near vertical line from the top to the bottom, like there was a scar there now.

Right away, he realized part of why Dark was so upset. A lasting mark had been made quite visibly on the hedgehog, and by the shadow's own claws, no less! Dark wouldn't be able to look at him without having such a reminder now...

"... If it helps any..." Mephiles tried his best to be supportive, as he pulled his hand away from the mark. "... I know just how you feel about that..."

"How could you possibly know! You've never-!" Dark was quick to respond, but froze when Mephiles gestured to a particular area on his own side to correspond with the place he wanted to indicate with Dark, as well as his ear.

"... You seem to forget that I chewed the crystals off your ear..." Mephiles said slowly, biting his lip, eyes watering a little. "... And before Iblis got your side like that... It was my claws that were forced to make the first slash into it..."

"_... But you can easily avoid looking at them when talking to me!_"

"... I always remember that they're there..." Mephiles shifted his ears back. "... I remember when I found you laying in a puddle of your own blood in our living room, barely breathing, paler than paper, you fur matted with the stuff, and red dripping off my fingers... I remember that every time I really take a moment to realize the wound is there..."

"_I'm sure I would have noticed that before!_" Dark snapped back.

"... That's because I counter the memory with a single, happy fact that can usually push it away from my mind for a while..." Mephiles smiled faintly. "...'He's alive, and standing in front of me'..."

"..."

"..."

Dark almost dissolved into unintelligible babble at hearing this.

"_... I don't understand how you can still not hate me for all that!_" He shook his head once he was able to form clearly pronounced words.

"... It's because I love you, Dark..." Mephiles' smiled broadened a little. "... You're one of my friends, you're my brother, you've saved me countless times, you understand me a lot... I just love you..."

"_I don't even understand how it's me, of all people..._"

"... You don't really get to choose who takes up a special place in your heart, it just happens..." Mephiles giggled softly. "... I suppose it's the same reason you care a lot about me..."

"_... I thought you were going to be scared to see me after what happened..._" Dark's ears swiveled back.

"... I knew it wasn't you attacking me the whole time..." Mephiles blinked in astonishment. "... I knew from the moment he took over. He didn't talk like you, he didn't move like you, he didn't have the same look in the eyes, which didn't look like yours either... It was clearly not you..."

Dark lowered his head and stared at the floor, not wanting to keep eye contact.

"... You look better..." Mephiles added faintly, in an attempt to try and perk up the obviously torn up inside shadow. "... The darkness under your eyes is going away, and you're not nearly as thin anymore..."

"_... I'm almost bald, though... More than half my crystals are gone..._"

"... It'll grow back..." Mephiles held back another grin simply because he didn't want Dark to think he was laughing at his expense. "... Just like last time... By then, they won't be so brittle..."

"_... That'd be nice..._" Dark looked up a little, smiling weakly.

"... Good... Now, we have a little problem here..."

"_... What..?_" Dark was instantly worried. "_... What kinda problem..?_"

"... I've been out of a coma for nearly a quarter of an hour..." Mephiles said with the straightest face possible. "... And you haven't once tried to hug me."

Dark's mouth hung open, and an eyebrow cocked up.

"_... You're serious?_"

"... I'd go over there myself, but I appear to still be regaining full function of my ability to move properly." A smile crept on the hedgehog's face again. "... I'd already be hugging you right there if not for the fact that I'd probably hit the floor because I won't be able to stand yet."

"_... What if I squeeze too hard..?_" Dark hesitated. "_... I could end up hurting you more..._"

"... I trust you won't..." Mephiles gestured for him to come over and held his arms out. "... Trust me... It'll be fine..."

"_... Actually, I have a better idea..._" Dark smiled a little. "_... I learned a new trick, in fact..._"

Mephiles watched as Dark changed his shape into that of a familiar cat, with merely cosmetic differences that were clearly Dark's traits, and within seconds, the cat was up on the bed with him, leaning and rubbing his head against the hedgehog's furry chest. Mephiles blinked twice.

"... So that's what was leaning against me earlier..." The hedgehog raised a hand to carefully pet the cat's head. "... Wow, you even can get rid of the crystals... What's that like, anyway, to have natural hands and feet..?"

Dark mewed.

"... I guess you can't talk in that form, can you..?"

A slight head shake.

"... Hmm..." Mephiles mumbled before adding: "... Still better than what I can do... Very impressive..."

A purr exploded from the blue cat as the green eyes squeezed shut.

"... I hear you're not the only one to be changing shapes, though..." Mephiles raised his eyebrows. "... 'Shu'..?"

Dark's eyes shot wide open and the purring stopped immediately.

"... Oh, don't worry... He explained everything while I was out of it..." The hedgehog snorted lightly, smiling. Seeing that Dark's furry kitty face went from horrified to confused, Mephiles explained further. "... From what I figure, all three of us can access each other's deep state of minds every now and then... You know how that works... Anyway, he explained everything about what went on while we were separated, and all that..."

The look on Dark's face clearly was begging for more details.

"... It's okay... We're all cool now..." Mephiles patted the cat's head. "... In fact... We got something figured out to work with for now, so you can still see him without having to be too secret about it... But only the three of us are supposed to know who he really is... Okay..?"

The small cat crawled up onto the white fluffy chest and rubbed his face against the hedgehog's cheek.

"... I'll take that as a 'Thank You'..."

Dark slid off and hopped back to the floor, changing back in a puff of purple mist, and standing up to sit in the chair next to the bed, looking as though he was trying to hide how much he was wanting to grin.

"_... He's not really such a bad person, just misguided like I was..._" Dark nodded, leaning forward. "_... He just thought you were trying to take me from him, so that's why he targeted you so much..._"

"Yeah... He set the facts straight there, and explained his side of the matter." Mephiles nodded back, starting to sound less out of breath now. "And honestly, I can see why he'd be a little angry with me at first. He tried to keep you shielded from whatever he could, and I just show up and you latch onto me, and want to get as far away from him as you could... In the state of mind he was in, it just made sense that I was the root of you hating him, because it seemed to happen around the time you got close to me." Mephiles managed to sit up a little and scoot back against the pillows to prop himself up. "So really, a lot of it's just a big misunderstanding and some unlucky turn of events..."

"_... I never really hated him... I just hated what he was turning into..._" Dark lowered his head, looking at his feet, which hung several inches from the ground.

Before anything else could be said, a sound at the door caught both of their attentions and they both turned their heads to look.

With hardly enough time for either one to register what happened next, Mephiles found himself caught up in the arms of a white bat, who got to him first before the black hedgehog.

"Geeze, kid! Don't ever do that to us again!"

"... Hi, Rouge..." Mephiles blinked, and grinned while he squeezed back.

"Is that all you have to say after all that!"

"... Um... Well... No... Not really..." The young hedgehog blushed a little and folded his ears back as he was let go... Only to be pulled into another hug by Shadow. "Hey! I'm still a little sore! Be careful, please!"

"That was the second time since you disappeared that I thought you were almost dead!" Shadow snapped back at him. "I'll show my gratitude how ever I dang well please!"

"... Well... I feel so loved..." Mephiles blinked yet again, arms pinned to his sides. "... It wasn't Dark's fault, by the way..."

"We already got that sorted out. He's not in trouble."

"Hearing that from you sounds so weird..." Mephiles looked up at Shadow. "... What happened with you and Dark while I was out?"

"..." Both Dark and Shadow were silent.

"They're starting to see more eye to eye." Rouge answered for either one of them, smiling a little.


	55. One more chapter after this, guys!

His sensitive hearing and ability to feel the emotions in the air caused his to wake up when he felt a disturbance in the otherwise quiet night.

_... It's probably Dark..._" Mephiles frowned a little, sitting up as best he could. He still felt a little weak in terms of standing. After all, he had only woken up from a month long coma just days ago, and was still recovering his strength.

Looking over at the bed next to him (Dark had been allowed to be moved into the room with Mephiles now that the hedgehog was awake...), he found that Dark was sitting up as well, but was slumped forward, and from the look on his face, Mephiles could tell that Dark was experiencing yet another parasomnial episode.

A barely audible whimper was escaping the shadow, and he was rocking and swaying slightly, subconsciously trying to calm himself.

Mephiles' ears perked up and after listening several times, he finally caught what was being said in the shadow's low strained voice.

"_... I wanna go home..._"

Whatever amount of sleepiness Mephiles had at the moment was forgotten as he was immediately concerned for Dark.

_... Shadow and Rouge said he might have moments where he's forgotten that he's been rescued..._ The hedgehog felt his eyes tear up a little at seeing this. _... Like a really bad flashback..._

Dark continued to repeat his statement like a mantra, bringing his hands to his head slowly, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes as he rocked back and forth.

Mephiles couldn't stand seeing him like that, especially since the hedgehog could feel every spike of torment shooting through the shadow's heart like arrows.

Not caring that he couldn't stand properly for very long, Mephiles made his way to the edge of his bed and carefully slid off to touch his feet to the tiled floor, holding onto something (he didn't care what...) for support as he shakily crossed the short distance to the bed where Dark was at, and with quite a bit of effort, he crawled up onto the bed to sit adjacent to Dark, taking a moment to catch his breath.

_... I need to be careful. It's probably the same rule as with him sleepwalking..._ Mephiles contemplated his next move. _... If I move too fast or startle him, he could fight hack, thinking I'm whatever's scaring him right now..._

"_... I wanna go home... I wanna go home... I wanna go home..._" Dark hadn't even noticed that Mephiles had moved to where he was, and continued to chant his words, now starting to sniffle and choke back a sob in his throat, burying his face in his hands. "_... I wanna g-go home... I w-wanna go home... I wanna go h-home..._"

Cautiously and slowly, the hedgehog worked his arms around the shadow's chest, getting a gentle but secure hold on him. The moment their skin made contact with each other, Dark jolted and froze before squirming uncomfortably, causing Mephiles to hold his breath, waiting to see if he needed to dodge fast if Dark decided to turn around and take a swing at him, thinking the hedgehog was something there to hurt him...

Dark relaxed instead, and slumped back into the comforting hold, curling his hands lightly and drawing his arms and legs in as if trying to curl up his body as well, but only slightly.

_... Probably won't even remember this in the morning..._ Mephiles added almost hopefully, gently brushing the back of his fingers against Dark's cheek to keep him calm. _... I hope he doesn't... I don't want him to start worrying or being embarrassed about it..._

It took some time, on account of Mephiles' still having a bit of weakness, but he managed to pull Dark back to where his head could rest on the pillow, and tugged the blanket back over his body, which was shivering feverishly from both what just happened and possibly from the air conditioned room itself... Not that Dark would have minded anyway, considering his preference of colder temperatures.

All the same, Mephiles felt that it would help with giving Dark a more secure state of mind if he didn't feel so exposed in a way similar to a child having left it's favorite stuffed toy behind before an overnight stay...

Without really thinking, Mephiles soon realized that he had just bumped his nose gently against Dark's forehead, and immediately his muzzle flushed red despite no one having seen that, not even Dark.

_... That's something Mom used to do when we couldn't sleep..._ He shook his head lightly, now gently wiping a few stray tears from Dark's face. _... I'm so glad no one saw that... What was I thinking..?_

* * *

Jumping to a week later, and our boys are showing promising signs of improvement.

Mephiles was well on his way to regaining his natural balance, demonstrating proudly by holding his arms out to his sides and walking by placing each step directly after the one before it, as though walking a painted line on the ground. He faltered very little, and with that, he was beaming with joy.

Nearing the end of the two month regimen to treat his malnourishment, Dark definitely looked much better weight wise than he had in a long time. Though still thinner than his counterpart, it was not nearly as striking of a difference now. Mephiles was beaming at that, too.

The shortened stubs on Dark's head were halfway done with growing back to normal length quills, but honestly, Dark still looked odd without the light blue crystal tipped spines. Something that Dark was constantly aware of like a mouse being watched by a cat. Mephiles tried to assure him that he looked perfectly fine, but... Well, you know Dark by now.

Upon hearing of the young hedgehog's time spent in the hospital and the now arrived stage of nearly done recovering, a box was sent to Mephiles from Tails and Sonic, much to his mild confusion before sliding a claw along the taped top and splitting it open.

In it, there were several things Mephiles recognized from his time spent with the famous duo. Among the most notable were his lifejacket, three unopened bars of chocolate, and the small wooden figure that looked amazingly like Chip.

Dark, who was sitting on the bed next to him, crawled closer to lean over and look into the box curiously.

"_... What's all that for..?_"

"Some of the things I picked up while I was traveling with Sonic and them..." Mephiles smiled nervously, a little worried that Dark was going to get mad over that again. "See, one place we went to was surrounded entirely by water... Well, a lot of places were, but this place was built on water..."

"_... Like Soleanna..?_"

"Kinda, but it was a village rather than a kingdom..." Mephiles blinked, a little surprised at Dark's calmness over it. "... So, anyway, they got me a this thing, which is a life vest, and it's supposed to help me float if I fell in the water, so I don't drown."

"_... Does it work..?_"

"Yep. And these are bars of chocolate. I don't really think we picked them up somewhere, I think they just stuck them in the box because I said I wanted you to try it..."

"_... I don't think I've actually eaten chocolate before..._"

"It's pretty good, and it's not spicy or dull." Mephiles' smile got less nervous. "So you shouldn't have a problem with it..."

_... What's this..?_" Dark reached into the box and pulled out the wooden charm.

"Believe it or not, that actually looks like one of the ones I was with." Mephiles grinned now as Dark was turning the figure around in his fingers. "And the best part? He was actually Light Gaia the whole time!"

"_... What..?_" Dark said flatly, not exactly comprehending what was said.

"He was the good half of Dark Gaia, so he was the one who was supposed take that thing out." Mephiles reached over to carefully pull the figure free from Dark's hands for a moment. "See, that collar thing had a gem on it that activated something that helped restore the Chaos Emeralds, because they had been drained when Dark Gaia woke up."

"_Why did it take so long for him to do anything about it?_"

"That Human woke up Dark Gaia before it was really meant to be, and Chip got amnesia because of that, so nobody really knew, not even him." Mephiles explained, handing the figure back. "While Sonic was helping me find you, he was also trying to help Chip find something or someone to jog his memory, because he didn't remember anything at all."

"_... Chip..?_"

"That's what we called him because he needed a name." Mephiles shrugged with a short laugh. "... He was interesting. It was kinda a shock for all of us when we learned that he was actually a guardian of the planet... We'd been looking after someone who looks after us all the whole time..."

"_... Maybe that's why you were kept safe..._" Dark handed the wooden figure back, only for Mephiles to shove it back into his hands.

"No, I got that thing for you." The hedgehog explained, shaking his head. "See, it's supposed to be a good luck charm, and in Adabat, they believe that it'll protect you from bad things..."

"_It looks like a piece of driftwood that's been stained with pomegranate juice._"

"... So knew you were going to say that." Mephiles snorted. "So, you like it or not? I know it's not a square cantaloupe, but at least it didn't spoil before I got it to you."

"_... It's really mine..?_"

"Yeah."

Dark smiled a little more.

"_You still owe me the cantaloupe._"

"I know, I know." The hedgehog laughed softly, shaking his head. "I haven't forgotten."

Among other things in the box, there was what appeared to be the collar that Dark had been forced to wear, with a note rolled up and tied to it.

Confused, Mephiles pulled it out of the box and tugged the note off and unraveled it to read.

**Reverse engineered it, and figured out how to take out the electric shock part. Remembered that one of you said that heat really hurts him, and winter won't last forever, so use this then. If it ever needs calibrating, or whatever, let me know.**

**-Tails**

"Hmm... I guess that solves the summer problem..." Mephiles looked it over carefully, before handing it to Dark. "... I don't know if you ever want to wear this again, considering... But it does seem like an easy way to keep from getting heatstroke..."

"_... Are you sure the shock part is out of it..?_" Dark was eying it warily, having not grabbed it yet.

"I'm sure. Tails is supposed to be really smart. He makes workable fake Chaos Emeralds, even. And stuff... I'm sure he took care of it..." Mephiles continued to hold it out. "See? It's not doing anything..."

"_... Do I have to wear it right now..?_"

"Of course not! It's not even hot out!"

"_... I'll just give it some time..._"

* * *

Another week passed, and Mephiles was finally cleared to be allowed to go back home. Dark could have gone any time for a while now, but he refused leave the hedgehog alone overnight. Who could blame him, after what they both went through..?

Three Chao wasted no time in excitedly greeting the hedgehog, having not seen him in months. Sharpe took his place draped over a shoulder, reaching his mischievous small claws up into a quill clump, while Krystal flew into his arms and nestled against the white fluff, winding her little claws around tiny handfuls of fur, as if to say that she had no intention of letting go of him anytime soon. Kai latched onto a leg, looking up as if to say he had dibs on being held next after the twins got the attention first.

Mephiles looked at Dark, half worried the shadow was going to snap at the Chao for mobbing him, but instead, he was surprised to the shadow reach over to pry the green striped Chao carefully from the hedgehog's leg, smiling slightly.

"_Wait your turn... You don't want to overwhelm him..._" Dark told the Chao, who was squirming with annoyance.

"No, really, it's okay..."

"_Oh, sure, say that now, and five minutes later, you'll be half ready to pass out._"

"Dark, I'm not feeling weak. And Chao hardly weigh anything. I'm not overexerting myself."

This back and forth argument went on for a few minutes before they were both interrupted.

Being directed to where the garage was, or rather, had been, the two boys were left somewhat speechless at what sight greeted them.

A new had been built for the house within the garage. The walls and carpet were two shades of blue, as close to the shades on the two crystal hedgehogs as possible, it seemed. There were two twin beds on either side, nearly identical aside from one being done in darkened purple theme, and the other in a light blue.

Atop the purple bed were two easily identifiable objects of Mephiles'; the beanie dog and his favorite pillow that he often had to fight with Sharpe over.

On the blue one, there was a small stack of spiral notebooks, and Dark immediately looked horrified at the sight of them out of their hiding spot.

"_You didn't read them, did you!_" He shouted almost shrilly at Shadow, eyes wide open. "_I had those hidden for a reason!_"

Rouge gave Shadow an "I told you so." kind of look as Shadow scratched his head nervously.

Dark clenched his teeth and looked as though he didn't know whether to be appalled or infuriated, and the slight shaking from his entire body was enough to indicate that it was taking all his willpower not to throw a tantrum over it.

Mephiles had that look he often gave when he sensed that Dark had a strong possibility of launching into a rage fit, ears perked up in alertness and his eyes rounded even more than their usual shape, body tensed in anticipation of either needing to intervene or to jump out of the way.

"Well, it's not like I actually intended to find them..." Shadow tried his best to explain fairly, without causing Dark to get even more ruffled. "I was getting something Tape swatted under the couch, and they were there..."

"_But did you _read_ them!_" Dark narrowed his eyes, his muzzle igniting in deepened shade of red across the bridge of his nose.

"Uh... F-funny story about that, actually..." Shadow was trying to avoid answering, knowing that Dark wouldn't be very pleased about that, and truthfully, Dark would have every right to be angered by his notebooks being read without his permission or knowledge. "... Honestly, things would be a lot easier if you were more open about what goes in that head of yours..."

Instantly, Shadow knew he had said the wrong thing.

Rouge calmly stepped away from him, hands in the air.

Mephiles buried his face in his hands, groaning: "... Why doesn't anybody listen..?"

Dark's nearly fully grown quills raised on end the best they could. He was breathing quite rapidly, and the shaking was a little more noticeable. Any ambient sounds nearby seemed to just die all of a sudden. Birds outside just stopped chirping. Neighborhood kids stopped laughing and playing, it seemed. The distant hum of lawn machinery stopped as well. All Dark could really hear were his ragged breaths and the pounding in his ears.

"_... Y-you... You d-did read them!_" Dark screeched when he finally found his voice again, looking agitated beyond all reason, clenching his hands together tightly before snatching up the notebooks and throwing them down to the ground at his feet in a fit of rage, before burying his face in his hands and sinking to the floor, still shaking as he withdrew himself into a ball.

Mephiles looked at him cautiously before turning to Shadow and saying: "... He's... Upset, angry and embarrassed, all at the same time... You should have just said 'No' as an answer..."

"He would have found out eventually, you know him!"

"... Yes, but still..." The crystal hedgehog shook his head exasperatedly, sliding his fingers along the side of his head and sighing. "... I haven't even read them, and that's because they were supposed to be private..."

"How is it that everyone knew about them besides me?"

Mephiles and Rouge both gave him a similar look, both clearly saying "... You can't be serious..."

Mephiles then cautiously approached Dark, who had yet to show any desire about unrolling from the ball he was in. Kneeling down, and carefully reaching a hand to his shoulder, the crystal hedgehog hesitated from going further once Dark jolted at his touch, before the shade calmed down upon realizing who was making contact with him. When Mephiles shifted his touch to sliding both arms around the shadow securely, Dark relaxed, uncurled and slumped against him, pale face flushed with embarrassment, breathing a little heavily.

"_... He shouldn't have read them..._" Dark mumbled discontentedly, rolling his head back to look up at Mephiles.

"... I know, but I wasn't there to make sure that he didn't..."

"_... Hid them for a reason..._" Dark closed his eyes, frowning weakly. "_... Tired of my thoughts not being kept secret..._"

"... I can understand why you feel like that." Mephiles agreed, looking up at Shadow and Rouge briefly. "... But, maybe Shadow's right. If you stop trying to hide everything, that is. You can still have secrets, but you should let us know if something is really bothering you..."

"_... I should have mentioned something after the planet split..._" Dark shook his head, sighing. "_... I knew that was bad right away, but I amounted that to me being paranoid at first... I mean, it happened so soon after the whole Iblis thing, and I just wanted to be left alone..._"

Mephiles bit his lip before reaching for a notebook, then pausing to add: "... May I..?"

Dark opened his eyes to look at what he meant and said dejectedly: "_... Why not? Everyone seems to have..._"

The young hedgehog hesitantly picked up one of the books and thumbed through it, skipping passed the ramblings of how much Dark hated the the idea of writing in the notebook, and the doodles, before settling on the first entry that indicated something was upsetting to Dark.

As he ventured further and further in, Mephiles narrowed his eyes a little before snapping them wide open, gasping slightly at some of the things he read.

"_... Are you quite through..?_" Dark sounded almost bored, very different than he had been just minutes before.

"... Oh, Dark... I had no idea just how much Dire was tormenting you..." The young hedgehog sniffled as tears sprang to his eyes. "... He did all that, and just reformed back to normal seconds later..?"

"_... That's peanuts compared to what he did after I couldn't write in those anymore..._"

Mephiles dropped the book and quickly caught Dark back up in another embrace, breathing quickly and trying hard to suppress the cries that were trying hard to escape, leaving them as nothing more than high pitched whimpers and whispers caught in his throat. The tears were threatening to spill down his cheeks.

"_... Why are _you_ crying? I'm the one who was dragged through heck and back._" Dark was a little more than startled, now worried for the hedgehog.

"... B-because I'm s-sorry... I c-couldn't d-do anything t-to help..." Mephiles was stuttering between breaths, trembling as well, squeezing his eyes shut and letting the tears drop as he buried his face in the side of Dark's head, against the quills. "... I-I... I'm... I-It's not fair..."

"_... It happens..._" Dark swiveled his ears back and looked up nervously at the bat and hedgehog watching them. "_... Uh... Can you please stop, now..? We're not alone... And this is getting upsetting..._"

"... I c-can't... I'm n-not the only one uh-upset..." Mephiles inhaled sharply, shaking his head slowly.

"_You're the only one crying..._"

"... Yes, b-but I'm f-feeling what you're f-feeling right now..."

"_I'm perfectly fine, you're the one freaking out..._"

"I know what I'm f-feeling right now, and I know what's f-from you!" Mephiles snapped back, sounding a little irritable. "You m-might be able t-to hide them from s-sight, but I can always f-feel them!"

"_Then let go of me, and stop upsetting yourself..._"

"No!" Mephiles protested. "Not until you admit it, t-too!"

Dark glanced back warily at Shadow and Rouge, managing to plant a hand to his face in exasperation.

"_... Mephy, we were in the middle of being presented this room... We're kinda hogging up the attention..._"

"You s-started it by being all angry about th-the notebooks!"

"_What did you expect me to do!_" Dark growled, bristling his quills and fur, squirming a little. "_You know as well as anyone that I hate feeling invaded, and after having a little monster probe around my brain for more than two months, you expect me to be calm about my written thoughts having been looked into? Am I the only one who sees the lack of logic in all of your thinking!_"

Before Mephiles could respond, Dark shifted his shape to that he had taken from Tape, and used the flexibility of the feline skeletal structure to slip out almost effortlessly from the surprised hedgehog's hold. Once he was free, he changed back to normal, folding his arms and narrowing his eyes at Mephiles.

"_Not that I'm not grateful for how much you care, but it's possible to smother me too much with the attention..._" Dark snorted through his nose. "_... That, and I can't stand hearing you cry._"

"And I can't stand seeing you hurt in any way possible!" Mephiles countered, but Dark held a hand up to stop him.

"_Let's just get this room thing done, and then we'll move onto that, 'kay?_"

Mephiles, reluctantly, stopped talking, but he still ended up with the hiccups.

* * *

The room would take some getting used to, as both boys were more accustomed to having either spread out blankets on the floor, or taking turns with the couch. The past two months, Dark had been sleeping on a bed, and Mephiles had done so in the back seat of a biplane. Having their very own beds seemed almost alien to either one of them.

As if some form of forethought was put into giving the room a "starter" feel, there was a flashlight for each of them, in case they felt the need to shine a light on a particularly unnerving corner of the room at night. Dark seemed like he was going to question how they knew about his uneasiness about absolute darkness, but caught himself before he caused another scene.

Given Mephiles' tendency to get sick fairly easily, and the distance between his bed and the bathroom was questionable, a backup idea in the form of a (clean!) two gallon ice cream bucket (with lid) was available should there be a problem... Likewise, one for Dark as well should he need it (Dark snorted and shook his head lightly at this).

Other things will be explained over time.

We move on to night time, when people tend to be asleep.

Mephiles seemed to have no trouble sharing his new bed with three Chao, despite the one trying to hog his pillow.

Dark, however, was awake and was now reaching around tentatively for the flashlight, finally locating it and fumbling before managing to switch it on, shining it on a corner of the room, and staring at the lit area fixedly, teeth clenched, and body shaking.

The action did not go unnoticed, but before the hedgehog even knew, it was a Chao whose attention was caught.

A soft sound of question sounded off beside the shadow, and Dark broke his gaze to turn his head slowly to look at the source of it, and was somewhat baffled to find the little green striped black Chao sitting next to him, staring up and the emotion dot above his head shaped into a question mark.

It took Dark a minute to realize that the Chao was curious as to what exactly he was doing, as Dark was not accustomed to being the object of attention to anyone other than Mephy (aside from his cat or as of recent, his own twin brother, that is). The confusion held his own attention long enough for the shadow to almost forget why he had been shining the light in corner to begin with.

The glow of the flashlight eventually managed to cause the hedgehog was stir, as the light was bright enough to do so. Once Mephiles started to wake up, he immediately sensed the uneasiness that had been present mere minutes before, and that caused him to be almost fully alert in two blinks of an eye.

"... Dark..? What's up..?"

Closing his eyes to hide the rolling he was doing, smiling faintly, Dark simply shut off his flashlight, causing the room to be washed in shadows and said: "_... Nothing..._"

Immediately, Mephiles found his own flashlight and switched it on, aiming it at the wall behind him to not blind Dark with the sudden change in light.

"... When are you going to learn that you can't lie to me about things like that?" The hedgehog frowned in concern, folding his arms.

"_... Do you have to know _every_thing?_" Dark sounded as if he was trying to be annoyed, but only because be seemed to want to force Mephiles to drop the subject for now.

"When you wake up in the middle of the night, shining lights in a corner, I do kinda like to know what's up..." The hedgehog shrugged lightly. "... So, you okay..?"

"_... Not used to this room... Just a little anxious..._" Dark said without looking at him.

"... That's not the whole reason." Mephiles said carefully. "... I sensed something else..."

Dark hesitated before saying: "_... It's not really anything worth worrying over..._"

"... Last time you said that..." Mephiles started before sighing and letting the statement fade, knowing there was no point in bringing that up now.

"_... The world isn't going crazy again, if that's what you're worried about._" Dark finally looked at him, smiling nervously, absentmindedly putting his hand on Kai's head. "_... I just... I was kinda... I honestly don't know what I was really doing a moment ago..._"

Mephiles hummed as a response, nodding slowly just as Kai, who had seen the whole thing anyway, decided to help elaborate by reenacting the basic idea.

Grabbing Dark's flashlight, and sitting down on the edge of the bed, the little striped Chao switched the light on with his paw, shone it in the corner and imitated what he had seen Dark do, by making his mouth wobble, his eyes wide and staring, shuddering, and, to help further confirm that this was an action of fear, Kai made the sound that Chao made when scared.

The twin Chao watched as well, Krystal making sound that indicated a question, and Kai responded by looking at Dark, who immediately froze at all the attention placed on him.

Then, quite quickly, Dark snatched the flashlight from the Chao and turned it off, shoving it under his pillow, growling lowly.

"_I wasn't acting like that!_" He shouted in a furious whisper, pale face flushed, before pointing at Kai, who flinched. "_And you stay out of this!_"

Mephiles frowned a little in concern.

"... Did you have a nightmare..?"

Dark flinched this time, and was quick to avoid eye contact.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about..." Mephiles tried to assure him, trying to keep him from shutting off. "... After what happened, I'd be more worried if you didn't."

Dark folded his arms and looked down, lowering his head.

"... I mean, I have them almost all the time-"

"_You have Night Terrors. Totally different._" Dark snapped irritably. "_You get to be lucky enough to probably forget more than half of them before you even wake up, and even more of them within minutes of doing so..._"

"I wouldn't really call it lucky..." The hedgehog shook his head, folding his ears back nervously. "... Especially when I usually throw up afterwards..."

"_And yet, it hardly affects you hours later..._"

"I can't really explain it myself..." Mephiles shrugged a little. "... I just happen to have people calm me down really well..."

Dark just snorted through his nose.

Mephiles sighed lightly.

"... Can you at least tell me what keeps scaring you so much..?"

Dark didn't answer.

"... Please..?" Mephiles added desperately.

Dark glanced at him, but still didn't answer.

"... You're afraid he's still there, aren't you..?"

Dark stiffened ever so slightly, it was a wonder how Mephiles had seen it at all.

"... He's been put back in the center of the planet, so by the time he gets back out, we won't be around, y'know." Mephiles tried to assure him. "And even if he did, he can't come near you, since that camera pretty much nixed him from you, anyway. You're completely protected..."

"_That would be easier to believe if not for the horrible luck I always have..._"

Mephiles huffed in exasperation, knowing Dark had a valid reason to believe that.

"... I wish I could so something, _any_thing, that would make you not have to worry about anything anymore..." Mephiles shook his head sadly. "... But even if I could, there's no way I can be convincing enough because I'm just a hedgehog who can't even fight back..."

Dark blinked and lifted his head to look at Mephiles.

"_... You'd stare death in the eye if you thought it meant I'd never have to..._" Dark unfolded his arms and let them drop to his sides, blinking again before looking down. "_... You're the bravest coward I've ever seen, honestly..._"

"That's not bravery, that's me desperately trying everything I can to stop something bad from happening..." The hedgehog laughed nervously. "... And, as you can see, it results in me getting knocked the heck out, and scaring the bejesus out of you..."

"_... At least you didn't run off and leave me behind, or just hand me over without even trying..._" Dark smiled back feebly.

"Never would dream of it." Mephiles said proudly, smiling back.

* * *

After what was thankfully a peaceful remainder of the night without much incident, seeping into the late morning, with the light starting to spread into the room, an ear flickered as Dark snorted softly, yawned widely and lifted his head from the pillow, looking around the room blearily.

Half asleep, he noticed that Mephiles' bed on the other side of the room was empty, and he dropped his head back to the pillow before a thought crossed his mind while he was still waking up.

_... Mephy's gone..._

This was followed immediately by his eyes snapping wide open and him sitting up quickly with a harsh cry of fright.

Normally, he would have rationalized that the hedgehog merely left the room to start his day, perhaps even currently seated in the kitchen with his customary mug of sugar doused in coffee. But instead, his half asleep brain decided not to work at full capacity and repeatedly chime that simple and yet terrifying statement over and over again, until he was half ready to start shrieking.

_... Mephy's gone... Mephy's gone... Mephy's gone... Mephy's gone... Mephy's gone..._

Practically falling his way out of bed, Dark half tripped to the door, and wrenched it open, startling himself out of the state he was in the moment the door hit the wall.

"... D-Dark..?"

Dark jolted at the sound of his name, and blinked before looking at who said it, who was none other than the hedgehog who he had been fussing over.

Mephiles was standing dumbfounded in the middle of the hallway, holding a half empty box of what was labeled as chocolatey toaster pastries in both hands, as if he had been intent on either sneaking them back to the room, or was bringing them to share. He blinked twice and stepped forward.

"... Are... Uh... Are you alright..?" The hedgehog said hesitantly, sensing enough to know right away it was otherwise, but didn't want to assume.

Dark inhaled sharply and caught him by the shoulders, dragging Mephiles towards him, causing the hedgehog to drop the box of Pop Tarts.

"_Don't leave me alone like that! Do you understand, me!_" Dark shouted, shaking him slightly, his eyes squeezed shut as Mephiles stared back with wide ones. "_The last thing I want to do first thing in the morning is wake up and wonder where the heck you are! The least you could do is leave a note or something!_"

"... B-but I was j-just-! I-I haven't even l-left the house..." Mephiles stuttered, confused as to why Dark was acting this way.

As Dark continued to chew him out, gradually sounding more and more hysterical as Mephiles continued to attempt to assure him that it was not the case, and that he hadn't even opened the front door yet, let alone actually left... Mephiles realized that Dark was actually exhibiting some form of an anxiety attack.

Thinking quickly, the hedgehog swiftly pulled out of the shadow's grip and threw his arms around him, locking Dark's arms to his side as the young shadow creature squirmed and shouted as he was pulled and half dragged to the couch, and set down as the hedgehog tried to calm him down gently.

The careful touch of fingers to an ear, softly rubbing behind it helped Dark realize what had happened, and almost embarrassedly, he tried to turn away, pale face blushing furiously.

"_... S-sorry..._" Dark mumbled before lowering his head, staring fixedly on the floor.

"... It's nothing to worry about." Mephiles reassured him, smiling feebly as he squeezed him gently in a hug before starting to get up off the couch.

Dark panicked and quickly grabbed the hedgehog's arm, looking up with a worried and questioning expression.

"... I'm just gonna pick up the box I dropped in the hallway..." Mephiles explained, carefully prying himself free. "... And if you want, I could get you some tea or something..?"

Ears perking forward, Dark nodded slowly, smiling back faintly, before asking: "_... Are... Are we the only ones here..?_"

"Yeah. Shadow and Rouge couldn't get out of work together today after all the missed days lately..." Mephiles laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "... So it's just you and me until evening..."

Mephiles disappeared for a few seconds to grab the box and came back to hand it to Dark, who looked up at him in confusion.

"Try one. They're pretty good."

With that smile, Dark couldn't say no.

* * *

"No."

"But, Shadow-!"

"I said no. You are not going out there by yourself again so soon after what just happened." Shadow shoved the model motorcycle he was having to fix, for the countless number of times, aside on the table to lean forward and stare fixedly at Mephiles, who was nervously twiddling his fingers. "Last time you went out on a trip into town with Dark, you almost got killed."

"Th-that was really m-more of an isolated event..." The younger hedgehog tried to reason with him. "... A-and that was b-because of the planet being sp-split and all..."

"We have no way you can contact us if you get in a situation like that again, and I do not want to find your blood smeared all over an alley again, and wonder what on Mobius happened."

"Th-that's a bit of an exaggeration..." Mephiles stuttered, biting his lip and looking up at the ceiling. "... It w-wasn't all over..."

"_... It k-kinda was..._"

"N-not helping..."

"What could you possibly be so intent on doing anyway, that you have to go all the way to the park for?" Shadow frowned, eyes narrowed. "That's ten blocks away, and you of all people do not like to be going out in wide open places like that, Meph."

"It's f-for Dark." Mephiles lowered his gaze back to look at Shadow. "We're meeting s-someone there, actually..."

"Nice try, but who could he be interested in meeting with besides you?" Shadow folded his arms. "No offense, but he doesn't even like people knowing he exists."

"_... He's got a point..._"

"Oh, f-for the love of-! Fine! We were g-going to meet up w-with Shu!" Mephiles finally shouted, getting desperate and uncharacteristically irritated.

"_... W-we are..?_"

"Yes, and I w-wanted to s-surprise you with it, noooo, Shadow wanted t-to-!"

"That hedgehog back when we found you two?" Shadow blinked. "Wait, you were unconscious when he showed up, even Tails said so."

"Um... Email..?" Mephiles said quickly, his quills bristling a little before smoothing. "... He k-kinda looked after Dark while we were s-seperated, and I kinda wanted to th-thank him, and he's kinda D-Dark's friend now, too, so I th-thought it would b-be kinda nice if they could k-kinda get to stay f-friends... Kinda..?"

"... It's covered in snow out there this time of year. Why the park?"

"... Wh-why not..?" Mephiles blinked, trying to control his stutter, wringing his hands. "It's an open area w-well within v-view of everyone, and if s-something happened, people would s-see right away..."

"Look, all I'm saying is I'm not too keen on letting you go out on your own after we almost lost you..." Shadow raised his eyebrows. "It feels too soon for that, y'know?"

"I won't b-be alone!" Mephiles shook his head, persistent as ever. "Dark will be with me!"

"See, that's exactly the same reasoning that happened last time, and both of you were overwhelmed." Shadow shook his head as well.

"That's not f-fair!" Mephiles snapped back. "What were the ch-chances that that would have h-happened? It's not like it's a c-common occurrence!" Blinking, the hedgehog lowered his tone sheepishly. "... Please? Shu is the only p-person Dark has met outside of our circle, and..."

"It's odd that you're the one asking so much, and yet Dark hasn't said anything about this..." Shadow said, holding back a grin at this. "Alright, what's up with this then?"

"N-nothing!" Mephiles shouted almost too quickly, causing Dark to look at him incredulously. Mephiles stammered before catching himself. "Dark and I have been either stuck indoors or inside the hospital for ages now, and Dark's hasn't actually enjoyed the outdoors in even _longer_. You say so yourself that we can't hide in the house forever..."

"... If you go, I go with you." Shadow folded his arms.

"... If it gets us there, I don't see why not..."

* * *

Standing in an area that was untouched by the snow, which was under the tree that had served as many times an important place for our boys... Y'know, the large tree that Mephiles buried his family under... Well, Shu was waiting for them.

Looking up from the ground, with nothing to watch in particular, as most of the critters that inhabited the park were hibernating this time of year, he saw the group of hedgehogs and smiled, waving.

"I wasn't sure that you'd be allowed to come, considering how long you've been in the hospital." He said, knowing that he was going to have to be careful as to what to say while Shadow was around. "Both of you look a lot better than last time I saw you..."

"Well, I finally regain nearly all of my ability to walk properly..." Mephiles grinned his nervous smile, reaching over to grab Dark's arm and push him forward, as the shadow seemed a little anxious about this arrangement. "And Dark's actually been eating more regularly now, so he's not as thin anymore."

"_... It wasn't that bad..._" Dark mumbled nervously, fidgeting with the new scarf he now had, which was a slightly darker blue than the last one.

"I remember it completely different..." Shu said flatly, earning a squeak from Dark, which caused the odd green hedgehog to quickly say, waving his hand as if to try and sweep the tense feeling away: "But that's great to hear that you're doing better! I bet that means your quills are getting tougher now too? Not brittle anymore?"

At that, Dark nodded in response to the positive note the comments and questions had taken, smiling a little.

"_... Not at all..._" He let go of the scarf. "_... And Mephy and I have our own room now, so we don't have to sleep on the floor anymore, or fight over the couch..._"

Shadow watched as the three odd hedgehogs chatted back and forth between them, absolutely perplexed as to how Dark could be so somewhat comfortable with conversing with Shu, considering how distrustful and aggressive Dark tended to act to others who were not of the very small group that lived in their house... And sometimes not even that.

Despite the cold weather, this meeting continued for at least another hour and a half before Shadow spoke up.

"If you don't mind me asking, why choose such a wide open area this time of year to meet up?" He started, scratching his head. "That's all good in the summer, with the warm heat and all, but I would think someplace indoors would be a better choice, don't you think?"

"... I wasn't sure if you'd let us bring him home..." Mephiles said in a small voice, dropping his gaze to the ground.

"Why not? If he's really your friend, I see no reason why he can't." Shadow shrugged. "It's also a lot less snowy inside, and this is perfect weather for something like tea or coffee or whatever..."

"Oh, yes! Can we?"

This happened to have been said by all three of the younger hedgehogs at the same time, which caused them all to look at each other and quickly start laughing at that.

Shadow blinked in confusion.

"Okay, you're starting to weird me out..."

* * *

Upon arriving at the house, the first thing to note that happened was that Tape froze and stared at Shu with a low growl, which quickly made the green hedgehog uneasy.

"_... Oh, he kinda gets the wariness of strangers from me..._" Dark tried to quickly cover that up, picking up his cat, who squirmed in his arms restlessly. "_... I'm sure he'll get used to you if you gave it some time..._"

Tape hissed loudly, tearing free from Dark's arms, bristling his fur and holding his tail up high, taking off down the hall and into the open door to Shadow and Rouge's room, presumably under the bed.

"... Well, that's not a good sign..." Shu, who had flinched the moment the cat jumped, having half expected it to leap for him and attempt to maul him... slowly lowered his arms from his face. "... Maybe it was a bad idea to come here..."

"_No, it's fine! Tape just doesn't know how to meet new people!_" Dark tried to justify quickly. "_I'm sure he'll like you after a while! Especially if he sees that I like you!_"

Shu inhaled as if to respond, but a quick glance to the side that reminded him that Shadow was there deterred whatever he had planned originally.

A shrill cry from Mephiles, who had taken off to check on the cat momentarily, sounded off from, surprising the others enough to cause them to all stop talking, all worried in varying degrees. The reason for the shout became clear seconds later, as the young hedgehog was now shoving a large pinkish cocoon across the floor out of the room, looking absolutely frantic.

"Oh, geeze! What is this thing! It looks like the one Krystal and Sharpe were in before they evolved, but it's pink!" Mephiles shouted, shoving the large dollop shaped item into the living room by sitting behind it and throwing his weight into it to move it, as it was just too smooth and wide to keep a good hold on it to carry. "Has anybody seen them? What about Kai! They've already evolved, so what in the world is this thing!"

"Uh... Meph..?" Shadow started, setting down the hot mugs of tea he had in his hands on the coffee table. "... That's... Um, you know how Chao can live more than one life sometimes?"

"But mine are still really young! They can't be hardly a year yet!" Mephiles' eyes were already tearing up.

"Krystal and Sharpe maybe..." Shadow looked away, really wishing Rouge had day off like he had, as she was a lot better at handling this sort of stuff than he was. "But, remember that you picked up Kai as an already evolved Chao, who was abandoned at the gardens... We have no idea how old he is, honestly..."

"And you're saying..?" Mephiles said slowly before his eyes shot wide open, shaking his head quickly enough that his crystal quills hit against each other and made that certain sound. "No! Nuh-uh! That's not fair!"

"Wait a moment. What color does that look like to you?" Shadow pinched the bridge of his nose.

"... It's pink. I don't see what that has to it..." The younger hedgehog sniffled.

Dark caught on right away, sharp mind that he had.

"_There's three colors Chao cocoons come in..._" He explained, smiling slightly, much to the bewilderment of both Mephiles and Shu. "_Aqua is simply evolution. Gray means that's it, it's over. But pink... That means you get another chance, because the Chao was very happy with it's life._"

"... W-wait..." Mephiles blinked, perking his ears up. "... So... He's not d-dead..?"

"Well, technically, he still died..." Shadow reasoned. "But he gets to start over again. You get to raise Kai from an egg now."

"... You sure..?"

"Have I lied to you about serious things before?"

"... N-no..." Mephiles scratched his head nervously, flattening his ears.

The cocoon started to become transparent, and inside it was the large spotted egg that was common among most Chao species. A squeaky cooing sound from beneath the pile of throw pillows on the couch announced that Krystal was present, poking her head out from the cushions as Sharpe drifted to the cocoon, looking at it questioningly before deciding it would be a great idea to smack at it with his claws.

"Hey! Don't do that!" Mephiles grabbed Sharpe and pulled the mischievous, squirming little Chao away from the surrounded egg. "How would you like it if someone started banging their hands against your egg while you were still in it?"

If any of the hedgehogs (or hedgehog shaped creatures...) could understand Chao, they might have recognized Sharpe's look as: _My egg had two of us in it. Believe me, anything to crack it open faster is greatly appreciated..._

But, no one besides Krystal caught it.

_... It wasn't _that_ bad... Was it..?_

_You were sitting on top of me._ Sharpe huffed as he was put down on the couch away from the egg.

_... You just happened to be on the bottom..._ Krystal drew back under the cushion pile cautiously. _... Besides, I weigh less, so it was better if I was sitting on you anyway..._ The girl Chao adjusted her pillow cover to make an air pocket to breathe from comfortably. _... So, Kai's gonna be a baby now..?_

_Yeah. That means Dad's gonna hafta pay more attention to him if he's gonna evolve right._

_... I like Kai the way he was._

_Cuz you got a crush on hiiiim!_ Sharpe cooed teasingly, rooting under the cushions to grin widely in his sister's face.

_I do not! He's like our brother! That'd be so weird!_ Krystal shoved him away.

_No, _I'm_ your brother._ Sharpe waved a claw in a correcting manner. _Besides, he's got a crush on you too._

_Really?_ Krystal said almost too fast, before she realized that Sharpe caught her. _... Aw, darn..._

Meanwhile, back at the plot...

"... If you don't mind me asking..." Shu said, having seen the twin Chao before they disappeared under the pillows. "... Why are those two alike but different at the same time?"

"Well, they're twins, to start off..." Mephiles shrugged. "... They came out of the same egg, which is really rare. Krystal is the girl, and Sharpe is the boy... And they both ended up on either end of the alignment spectrum..."

"... The girl looks very timid..."

"She takes after me..."

"What about the other one..?" Shu blinked. "He's got a bit of a mean streak, it looks like, but you don't look like one to have it..."

"Naw, he's not mean, he just likes to cause trouble." Mephiles laughed nervously.

"_... With this one being an egg again, you may want to watch out..._" Dark spoke up, not looking away from the egg.

"I'm sure I can figure something out..."

"_... That also means..._" Dark started up, but swiftly ended the statement before it sounded complete, catching Mephiles' attention as he turned away, folding his arms in an agitated way.

"... What..?"

"_... Nothing..._" Dark grunted, not even look up from the floor as the cocoon disappeared and left the egg sitting unguarded. "_... Forget I even started it..._"

Mephiles immediately sensed a twinge of jealousy once the words faded. Confused for a moment as to why, a quick glance at the egg clicked something into place.

_... Aw, crud... This happened at a really inconvenient time..._ Mephiles told himself just as Shadow glanced at him for a silent reason for Dark's sudden mood change. Green eyes shifted to the egg briefly to sum it up for the oldest of the group. _... Dark's been worried and waiting for me to be alright for months now, and just as we could even be close to being back to normal... I have a baby Chao that needs probably my full attention if I want him to turn out eight... And Dark doesn't like to share me..._

Awkward silence. Even Shu seemed to want to back away and not be noticed.

Then an idea hit him. A great one. One that seemed to be a perfect solution for both a compromise and reinforcement.

Picking up the egg carefully and moving over to where Dark was, Mephiles paused, thinking it over carefully as the other two had their eyes on him before he inhaled slowly and started his plan.

"... Would you like to help with raising Kai this time..?"

Dark lifted his head and looked at Mephiles with mild confusion.

"_... What..?_"

"... It's something we can do together, and..." Mephiles paused, remembering that his wording had to be careful, not only to keep Dark from getting upset, but also so that Shadow didn't catch on to who Shu really was, and that Shu didn't feel offended. "... If anyone has a good idea about second chances, it's you the most... The most recent..." Mephiles managed to catch himself on that one. "... Plus, Kai's kinda started to seem to like you, if the other night was an indication..."

Dark blinked.

"_... He's your Chao..._"

"... I can share..."


	56. Okay, I lied one more chapter left

"_Do you think it should be wrapped up in something like a blanket, or just kept away from the cold..?_"

It was two days after Kai had reverted back to an egg, and Mephiles was making sure Dark was not only included in caring for the pre-hatched Chao, but having a chance in exploring and expanding any nurturing instincts that were clearly present in the shadow, as seen with the hedgehog and the fluffy little cat of his.

"Think of it like this: if that was you, which would you prefer?"

"_I doubt that's a good analogy, being that I'm naturally inclined for colder temperatures..._" Dark shook his head. "_He's not far enough advanced to have gained that liking, but I have a lower core temperature, so snuggling it wouldn't be very affective..._"

"Then wrap it up with a blanket and hold it. Whatever heat you manage to give off will be transferred, and collected under the thing." Mephiles suggested, biting back a smile, looking up from the chair. "Seriously, you're really smart, but you just don't know anything about taking care of baby Chao."

"_Forgive me for not having mothering instincts for the reasons of psychological damage, never having that imprinted on me, being practically the only one of my kind, not being female and-_" Dark started flatly before being interrupted.

"You have no problem showing it off with me or Tape..." Mephiles replied almost smugly, sipping his sugary mess that could have once actually been coffee. "If you care about something enough, it'll kick in when you need it to. If Mama Bear is too feminine of a term for you, there's also Papa Wolf, but it's basically the same thing, just gender reversed."

"_... Please don't say 'wolf' to me right now..._" Dark groaned wearily, earning a concerned look from the hedgehog.

"Why not..?" Mephiles didn't know about what else resided in Dark's mind besides Logic and his suspicions of younger Dark, and was even less so aware of the caged creature Dark kept shoved away as hard as he could. "They're not really a scary species. The males are really fierce about protecting what belongs to them, family included. And sometimes even take in babies that aren't theirs if someone needs to protect them..." Mephiles sipped his cup again. "I saw that on a nature program recently. And then there's a fish that the fathers will spend weeks on end cycling out oxygen in the burrow the eggs are, constantly flicking water on them with his tail to keep them from drying out, since they're all stuck to the ceiling where the mom laid them. And daddy Emperor Penguins will stand still for at least two months on ice and snow, balancing the egg on his feet and keeping it warm so it doesn't freeze... He won't even eat until he can trade with the mom for a while."

"_I doubt any of that works with a Chao egg..._"

"And even more strange and interesting are sea horses..." Mephiles was just babbling now for sake of conversation. "It's completely reversed. The dads-"

"_Thank you VERY much, but I just wanted to know how to keep it from freezing!_" Dark shouted over him irritably, knowing exactly where the statement had been heading. "_And knowing the rearing styles of a strange fish won't do anything to help!_"

Mephiles looked up at him again, not even wary.

"... I'm just saying, anything can have that nurturing instinct, regardless of circumstances..." The hedgehog laughed a little. "You say you doubt you have it, because you've never had parents to imprint it on you, but that's really not the only way it happens."

Mephiles got up from the table and stepped around Dark to get to one of the hall closets to pull out a fleece blanket and returned to spread it out on the table, and motioned for Dark to come closer.

"Between the two of us, you and I, we kinda switch back and forth, depending on who needs it the most at the moment." Mephiles continued to explain, smiling gently. "Rouge told me about when she and Shadow found us, and that even scared out of your mind, you still were more worried about my well being over yours."

At the mention of the day Mephiles had been cruelly beaten, bruised and bleeding, to what could have very well been an inch of his life, Dark's grip on the egg loosened absentmindedly, causing it to slide slowly out of his hands, which Mephiles saw this and quickly reached for it before it could slip completely and hit the ground.

"Dark! Are you alright?" Mephiles wasn't scolding him for almost dropping the egg, but was rather concerned that Dark seemed to zone out momentarily. Carefully pulling the large egg from the shadow's hands, which stayed in the same holding position, Mephiles set it on the blanket on the table, and reached for Dark's shoulders, examining him closer.

_... Oh, geeze... I shouldn't have mentioned that right now..._

Mephiles knew what he had done wrong, and immediately regretted even starting the conversation that direction.

Before he could figure out a safe and nice way to ease Dark out of the trance, Dark shuddered and blinked in confusion, looking around slowly before shifting his eyes to where he had been holding the egg, and quickly gasped when he realized it wasn't in his hands, which he was twitching his fingers a little as if feeling the air around them to be sure.

"Whoa! Calm down! You almost dropped it, so I just caught it and set it right there..." Mephiles assured him as Dark whimpered worriedly, knowing that Dark must have something horrible just happened in his memory lapse. "No harm done. It was my fault for triggering it, honestly..."

Dark looked down at the floor, avoiding eye contact as he normally did when upset.

Mephiles sighed softly, and reached for Dark's wrist, to pull him closer to the table.

"... Here, I'll just wrap it up so you can hold it and keep it warm..." Mephiles tried to explain, wondering if Dark was really paying attention now. "See, being that Kai's in an egg, you can just wrap the whole thing up and not have to worry about the air, because he doesn't need that right now... He just needs to be keep away from the cold. Here. You can hold it now."

"_... I'll just end up dropping it..._"

"No, you won't. It'll be fine." Mephiles tried to assure him, sensing that Dark was upset about having zoned out and almost losing his grip on the egg. "You did great with it earlier, you'll do great with it now."

Dark reached out for it tentatively, but quickly pulled away. "_... It's your Chao to begin with..._"

"And I decided to share with you. Take the egg." Mephiles said flatly, but gently, holding it out still. "Nothing is going to happen. I promise."

* * *

Dark wasn't very happy about what Krystal and Sharpe did to the egg's shell. Mephiles thought it was kind of cute, and even Shadow and Rouge had to agree with him.

Stickers of all shapes and sizes, and crayon scribbles, with a little smiling Chao face doodled on.

Crayon wax and sticker gunk was difficult enough to remove as it was, but the sheer amount of it was going to be a bear to scrub off, and it had to be done with utmost care as to not crack or damage the shell.

"You don't have to remove it, you know." Mephiles reasoned, sitting on the couch and holding the egg close to keep it warm until the house's heater kicked in properly. "They were just playing around, and that's the nicest I've seen Sharpe 'play' with something in a long time."

"_It's tacky, it's messy and it looks horrible._" Dark frowned, holding a damp cloth in his hand. "_Just let me clean off the crayon._"

"I know you won't stop at just the crayon..." Mephiles raised his eyebrows. "You're a perfectionist, and you want to make it look as perfect as you can..."

"_You said for me to help with the egg, and I'm going to do my job._" Dark huffed, stepping closer, reaching the cloth for it. "_Now let me do my job._"

"You're too serious about this..." Mephiles frowned back, moving the egg away from Dark just a little bit. "I say it's fine for now."

Shadow and Rouge was both watching and listening from the kitchen table, the bat smirking a little at the sound of the two odd boys fighting over the eggshell's decorations.

"And here you used to think he was such a horrible person..." She teased.

"Okay, I admit it. I made a mistake." Shadow grunted, pulling the teabag out of his mug and removing a glove so he could press the soaked bag of tiny leaves against the spoon, squeezing out the rest of the liquid without staining it. "A reasonable mistake, mind you..."

"You should know better than anyone how people can change when pushed in the right direction..." Rouge reminded him, leaning forward on the table and propping her head up with one hand. "... And how they might just need a chance to explain their side of things before being labeled as whatever you see fit."

Shadow grunted again in annoyance before looking back into the living room.

Mephiles now had his bubble shield surrounding himself and the egg from behind the couch as Dark tried by sheer force (as in not trying to actually cause damage to Mephiles, as too much strain put on the shield would hurt the hedgehog somewhat) to get past it, still holding the damp washcloth and was now shouting a long enough string of obscenities that I won't even bother to allude to which ones this time.

Shadow, having been halfway into swallowing another mouthful of tea, ended up snorting and immediately brought a hand to his nose, halfway laughing and halfway in tears.

"I think it backwashed into my brain!"

"... I suppose the next step is getting him to use those words sparingly..." Rouge didn't seem to notice him.

* * *

"_... I don't really want to go..._" Dark muttered, not looking up from the bent book he was reading.

"Please..? It's all part of the regular check in, after all..." Mephiles tried to pursued him, holding onto the egg (which still bore the remnants of crayon marks on the shell) as he looked up from the floor. "... I tried to see if I could get them to let this one slide, but you know I only have so much power in those kinds of decisions..." The hedgehog sighed, shaking his head. "... Honestly, it's a bit late, if you ask me, by like a few months..."

"_I think it's an absolute waste of time._" Dark huffed, turning a page. "_I don't need to be told what they think is 'wrong' with me, and have to do their way of 'coping'. I'd prefer to just have you for that._"

"But I'm not a professional." Mephiles reminded him. "I don't even know what I'm doing more than half the time."

"_But you know what I feel, rather than what you think I feel._" Dark added anxiously. "_... You know exactly what happened and I don't have to explain the whole predicament to you before we can even start discussing..._"

"... Yes, but all I can really do is reassure you..." Mephiles drooped his ears a little, and sounding as though he wanted to add something else, but held back because he was wary of the reaction he might invoke.

"_And that's all I need, just as long as you mean what you say._" Dark turned another page just as Tape rubbed his face along the bent spine of the book, purring.

"Well, of course I do!" The hedgehog said loudly, startling the two Chao beside him momentarily. "The last thing I want to do to you is lie and hurt you! But I'm just saying that we really should give this a try..."

"_It's a waste of time and you know it, Mephy..._" Dark shook his head, frowning and lifting his eyes from the page. "_Someone from the outside telling us how we should cope and adapt to what's happened, when they hardly understand what's been do-_"

He froze when he saw the absolutely helpless and somewhat hurt, wide eyed expression Mephiles had.

"_... Oh, please don't do that..._" Dark awkwardly hid his face in the book, flushing a little. "_... It's like you're trying to guilt trip me... And it works most of the time..._"

"... A-are you gonna t-try it at least..?"

"_I really don't want to..._" Dark groaned, hoping Mephy would just drop it soon. "_I'm sick of that place for now. I'm sure I've spent about as much time there, if not more, as I have here._" Finally closing the book and setting it aside, he added: "_Besides, why go right now? I'm not as thin as I was before, nothing's broken, I'm not bald or balding... there's no real reason at the moment..._"

"... At the very least, you should start writing in those notebooks again..." Mephiles suggested nervously, migrating from the floor to the couch, setting the egg between him and Dark. "... That way, you have a record of what you might want to discuss when you do take the chance..."

"_Just so someone else can look at them?_" Dark snapped back irritably. "_If I wanted to share what's inside, I would have said it flat out, instead of leaving it written down for someone to find like some scavenger hunt._"

"I wouldn't look in them unless you said I could, I know Rouge wouldn't either..." Mephiles reasoned cautiously, rubbing the back of his head as he looked upward.

"_And all it takes for Shadow to look is for them to just be there._" Dark shook his head with another frown. "_No. I don't think so._"

Before he knew it, a throw pillow had been smacked over his head. Not hard enough to hurt or anything, but it still startled him, making Dark shout out in shock as he flinched and held his hands up defensively.

"After what's happened, after practically driving yourself into insanity _again_ because you wanted to keep to yourself..." Mephiles huffed in uncharacteristic irritation, narrowing his eyes and holding the pillow loosely in his hands. "Not telling us_any_thing about what kind of... Of _torment_ that thing was putting you through... And all you're worried about is that someone is going to read what you wrote down simply because you don't want them to? Unbelievable!"

Mephiles threw the pillow at Dark, who flinched again and ducked out of the way, staring at the hedgehog apprehensively.

"_... A-after having my brain p-poked around and violated..._" Dark explained for the countless time anxiously, still holding his hands level with his face as if expecting yet another strike. "_... I r-really don't see why p-putting it down on paper is going t-to keep the thoughts p-personal... If my brain isn't s-safe..._" Dark trailed off, looking down at the floor.

Mephiles blinked mutely for a few moments before sinking a little into the couch, looking more like his normal nervous self, twiddling his fingers, and appearing to find them very interesting.

"... There has to be something I can do for you about that..." Mephiles finally said in a small voice, biting down on his lower lip. "... I feel like I didn't do much to begin with... I didn't even have much of a chance against Dire... I think I got hit with the floor more times that I got one on him..."

"_... You're not really much of a fighter..._"

"Gee, thanks..." Mephiles mumbled sarcastically, sighing and shaking his head.

"_Let me reword that..._" Dark shook his head. "_You're not a fighter, you're a protector._" Seeing Mephiles raised eyebrows, he elaborated further. "_Think about it; a good number of your abilities are either defensive or healing based. When something happens, your first thought is to do a head count and make sure everyone else is alright before you take care of yourself. You have heightened senses for hearing and scent, which gives you plenty of time to explain that something is amiss..._"

"... I can apparently sense earthquakes, now..." Mephiles added, lifting his ears slowly. "You weren't around for that, but I think it has to do with my Non-Mobian hardwired natural instinct... It's odd, like my brain starts buzzing and the only clear thought is something like: 'Get to where nothing can fall on you' or something similar..."

"_That would have been a nice ability to have, as it would have helped prevent having a good amount of building debris from smacking into my head... Making me lose my memory again, and no doubt making the crack in my skull bigger..._" Dark sounded a little jealous, half closing his eyes.

"I really don't get to pick what powers I have and how I get them. They just happen. And a lot of the time, they cause more trouble than help..."

* * *

"_Okay, I think I got this now..._" Dark scratched behind his ear for a moment before pointing. "_Euphie is the little happy one, Parry is normally depressed, Zane gets wound up on energy if I'm not handling something psychologically well..._"

He paused before gesturing to the next set.

"_Reese has good ideas but is too quiet, Arrow is kinda full of himself, Tactless is kinda a jerk, Paranoia always jumps to the worst case scenario..._" Looking over at the next group, he added: "_Sympathy is a lot like Mephy, Rage goes off on very little irritation, Jealousy thinks he's always being excluded when he's not, Anxiety frets over everything... Which one represents Love..?_" Dark looked back at Logic, who now had his glasses finally fixed.

"_There isn't just one to handle that, Dark..._" Logic snorted through his nose in mild amusement. "_Love is something that's made up of a little of everything._"

"_You're really starting to sound like Mephy..._" Dark groaned and shook his head in exasperation. "_Why isn't it ever a simple straightforward answer?_"

"_Consider it like this._" Logic tried to explain more clearly. "_You feel happy when you're around Mephiles, right?_"

Dark nodded without hesitation.

"_That's Euphie. Now, how do you feel when you have to share him with someone?_"

"_... Jealous and annoyed... Sometimes angry..._" Dark said slowly, looking at him oddly.

"_And when he's in danger, you're afraid for him._" Logic added. "_All those stem from how you care about him. It's not simply just one emotion._"

"_Alright, then. Which part do you handle?_" Dark folded his arms and raised an eyebrow.

Logic blinked, looking momentarily stunned.

"_... Honestly, I'm not very involved in the matter..._" He said once he regained his bearings, pushing his glasses back up a bit. "_It's not always logical, so I'm often out of the loop, more so than Reese..._"

"_And since you keep talking about all the positive stuff, here's an interesting question I have..._" Dark added, tapping his foot for a moment. "_Then who handles the opposite of that? The most negative emotion appears to be absent from the whole group._"

"_... You've already met him._"

Dark looked over the group again, mentally tallying each one off to whichever name and frowned slightly.

"_No, I meant who handles Hate. There is no way one can't exist, considering what has happened in my entire existence..._"

"_Again, Dark: You have already met him._" Logic exhaled in exasperation. "_You keep him separated from the rest of us, in that cage._"

Dark's eyes widened only a little, as if mildly surprised.

"_Krad? He's actually an actual emotion?_" Dark let his arms drop to his sides. "_I thought he was just the bad version of me._"

"_Because you allowed him to become increasingly active about the time you got trapped in the Scepter..._" Logic shook his head. "_He became more and more, eh, 'unbalanced' compared to the rest of us. While you still kept a decent amount of usage between Rage and I, which allowed us to be be some of you more easily accessed mindsets... Krad was overloaded on usage too much in too little of a time frame, and grants him an easier way to directly influence your general actions and thoughts..._"

"_What! You're not saying he can actually... C-control me or anything against my will, are you!_" Dark shouted in shock, his quills starting to bristle.

Logic was quiet for a moment as he looked upward at nothing in particular before looking back.

"_There's a reason he's not allowed out of that cage..._" Logic finally said, sounding very serious. "_He's still able to be accessed at times when such an emotion has no substitute, but as long as he's there, he can't cause any harm..._"

One of the other Darks, a rather nerve wracked looking one, who had been listening to them, added nervously: "_Are you sh-sure there's enough locks on that th-thing..? It c-couldn't hurt to add about s-six more... Maybe t-twenty... Or f-forty-t-two..._"

_... That one must be Paranoia..._ Dark noted to himself, feeling a twinge of unease now, before he looked back at Logic for a response.

"_As long as Dark believes it's enough, it's going to work._" The one with glasses said in a reassuring tone to the nervous one. "_The wonderful thing about Dark's mind is that, if he wanted to, he could easily say a wedge of cheese sitting on the lid would be all that was needed and it would still work. If Dark thinks there's enough locks, then there is. If he wants to add more, he can._"

"_... There's something very flawed about that logic, there..._" Dark frowned in more than just concern. "_It all banks on me saying that it'll work. What happens if I doubt it for even a second? Or I just offhandedly think to myself that it won't work, and it backfires horribly like a monkey's paw wish story, except it's in my head?_"

Before Logic could give any reassuring details on how it could not happen in that exact way... Paranoia exploded in a screech of absolute terror at the thought, managing to yank out the handfuls of quills he had been gripping nervously in his fingers, and not seeming to notice that he had just ripped out a decent number of quills out of their shafts, a few easily spotted to have the roots still in them.

A collective flinch from all around, especially Dark himself, having been rather close before the explosion of sound happened with that scream, and blinked in shock at the reaction he had caused.

"_Nice going, Dark!_" One of the obnoxious ones said sarcastically in a loud tone, which Dark was sure that one had to be Tactless. "_You made him do that in less time than normal!_"

Tactless was promptly smacked in the head by another Dark, who seemed just about fed up with his antics.

Dark, however, still seemed agitated by his previous thought, and turned back to Logic, wide eyed.

"_... Just how much of a problem is it, if he does get out..?_"

"_... Half of us are not exactly, eh, qualified to handle him..._" Logic was directing his gaze upward awkwardly. "_By that, I mean that some of us lack the proper amount of equivalency to cancel his actions..._"

"_... He'd hurt you..._" Dark stated in a flat tone, letting his ears drop a little.

"_Not exactly._" Logic shook his head slowly, pressing a hand to his head and knocking his glasses askew briefly. "_It's physically impossible to cause lasting damage to us, especially between ourselves. If you're worried that he can kill one of us, he can't..._"

"_I'm sensing a 'but' to that statement..._" Dark groaned worriedly, anxiously reaching for a quill to tug at as a nervous tic.

"_It's possible to cut off our connections with you for indiscernible amounts of time, some more easily than others..._"

"_Like me..._" The one Dark identified as Sympathy, joined the discussion in a careful and polite tone, cringing slightly at the pulling of the quill and gently managed to loosen the grip Dark had on it. "_Dire managed to disconnect me from you for a short while, which altered your thought process for that time, because you were incapable of, for lack of a better term, 'caring less about your actions' and how it affected things._"

"_When you and Ibljs interacted more and more, you were able to reconnect with Sympathy._" Logic added, nodding in agreement.

"_Before you did, I wasn't able to feel or express what I should have been able to..._" Sympathy looked as though he wanted to suppress a shudder. "_... I wasn't myself, I couldn't feel, and I was simply just... There. It's bad when you can't feel your emotions, it's even worse when your _emotions_ can't feel even what should be a soul..._"

"_Why can't we just disconnect Krad!_" Dark shouted as if he wondered why no one had even bothered to ponder such an idea. "_I-I could make it to where I never even need to hate anything ever again!_"

"_It's only a temporary fix..._" Logic shook his head. "_Disconnection isn't permanent, and he's far too intertwined with you. He's almost as bitter about being stuck in that tank as he is a trouble maker, if not more, and that easily fuels him in what he wants to do._"

"_Let him be as bitter as he wants! He's never getting out!_" Dark shouted almost defiantly. "_I've seen what he can do! I _know_what he can do!_"

"_Now, see, that's the state of mind that's gonna keep him there._" Logic allowed a small smile at this.

* * *

Some time later in the week, Dark found himself back by the aquarium-like container that Krad was being "housed" in anyway, just to be sure everything was left as is.

Sure enough, not a single dent or scratch was visible on the plexiglas like walls, though a slight smearing of what appeared to by a dark colored, dried fluid was spread almost waist height if Dark was standing right there to compare.

Swallowing back a lump settled in his throat, Dark looked at the still figure on the tank floor, and concluded that Krad had attempted to SpinDash through the wall, and only managed to give himself a decent knock in the head, and most likely lacerated his forehead in doing so, which was evidenced by the dried blood that had formed over the wound.

Krad stirred a little and lifted his head, squinting, before immediately growling lowly and taking a crouched stance, bracing himself with his hands to the ground, and fur and quills bristled.

Dark cringed anxiously when Krad flung himself at the wall between them, creating a fresh streak of deep red across the glass and causing the wound to reopen and bleed.

It wasn't that Dark was really concerned for the shadowy version of him, but more like Dark was a bit unnerved by seeing something in his likeness have to resort to repeatedly smashing against a wall for merely the sole purpose of wanting to break out and throttle him.

_... What could drive something to be this persistent..? He even knows the glass won't give, yet he continues to do that..._Dark swallowed again, not taking his eyes off Krad.

Seeing Dark's apprehension, Krad paused in his destructive task and stepped back a little to stare back at Dark. Then a startling smirk spread across his face.

"Oh, is this troubling you?" A short scoff of a laugh escaped him as the shadowed hedgehog shaped creature kicked his foot across the floor one and began pacing casually around the large terrarium.

Not sure of how else to answer, Dark slowly and cautiously nodded with a quiet groan of unease, scratching the back of his hand absentmindedly.

"What are _you_ so worried about anyway?" Krad huffed, a hint of a snarl under his voice. "That little obnoxious beast is gone, you made up with your brother, you're finally getting integrated into what can be called a 'family' and your little hedgehog defied all logic yet _again_, by getting out of all that with minor damage." Wiping off the blood on his forehead as if it were merely sweat, he added irritably: "So you can just go back to denying my existence like before, because all you being here is gonna do is just make me even more ticked off at you, and I'm just gonna keep trying to smash my way through."

"_... Logic said... He said you were one of them..._" Dark said in almost a squeaky voice, which he quickly corrected with a clearing of his throat. "_He said you represent 'Hate'..._"

"I'm actually quite shocked that you didn't figure that out on your own." Krad rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"_But Dire said you were... The old me..._" Dark said slowly, frowning slightly. "_... That's a contradiction, right there..._"

"Are you _really_ gonna listen to anything that high note, overgrown gecko said to you?" Krad snorted in annoyance. "I mean, sure, he can get in your head like that-!" Krad snapped his fingers to emphasize, but Dark flinched on instinct, prompting a flash of amusement in the caged one's eyes. "But more than half the drivel that came out of his mouth was complete junk. I could get the same effect on you, and _still_ be telling the truth."

"_... You hardly seem the kind to-_" Dark started to say before he was cut off by a sound of mock offense.

"That stung a little!" Krad give his best attempt to appear so, but it was lackluster at that. "It's like you don't even know me at all!"

"_Oh, yes I do!_" Dark snapped back suddenly, determined not to fall into what could very well be a verbal trap. "_You're a manipulative-!_"

"But, not a liar." Krad spoke over him calmly, smirking as Dark continued to try and drown him out.

"_Selfish-!_"

"And most definitely not a liar."

"_Destructive-!_"

"But _not_ a liar."

"_Hateful-!_"

"And not a liar."

"_Cruel and sadistic-!_"

"And amazingly; not a liar."

"_Insane and most likely deranged-!_"

"And yet... Not a liar."

"_Spiteful, ill tempered, inconsiderate-!_"

"Ah, yes... But, of course, not a liar."

Dark sputtered a string of gibberish after Krad's insistence of the matter derailed his train of thought. Krad was grinning smugly.

"Why should I have to make things up if the truth is just as effective?"

Dark chose not to answer, which prompted an angered growl from Krad, who returned to his task of repeatedly striking the tank wall.

A twitch settled in Dark's face briefly.

"_... Why do you continue to do that, if you know that it will never give, and all you'll succeed in is... Injuring yourself..?_" Dark finally said after mutely watching with an appalled look for what was five minutes.

Krad, now in his form that resembled a gloveless, shoeless Shadow form Mephiles the Dark, was now clawing his fingers at a corner of the tank floor, visibly wearing down his nails almost flat from the effort.

"Simple. Each second I spend in here makes me want to throttle you more and more." Krad didn't even pause in his ceaseless digging at the unbreakable material. "It's also boring in here, so it's something to pass the time. I'll wear my fingers clear to the bone if I have to. I do it all the time. Nearly everything just repairs when I shift forms, anyway. Why, does that bother you?"

Dark had felt a strange itch in his own fingers, under the crystals, as if the thought had indeed bugged him, and he curled them in hopes of getting the odd sensation to go away.

* * *

"Dark, are you alright?" Mephiles asked, frowning a little in concern at Dark sitting with his head flat on the surface of the table, quills spread out.

Dark lifted his head a little to look up, one eye half closed, ears drooping.

"_... Couldn't sleep last night..._" He grunted, lowering his head again.

"... Why?" The hedgehog was instantly concerned, and set the Chao egg down in a pile of blankets set on one of the chairs, then sat down in another, leaning forward to speak with the shadow. "... What's bothering you?"

"_... Nothing in particular... Just one of those nights..._" Dark mumbled, shaking his head slowly, rubbing at an eye with the heel of his palm.

"You're not lying to me, are you?" Mephiles blinked and raised his eyebrows. Dark looked up again, surprised at the response. "Like, hiding something because you don't want me to worry?"

"_... No._" Dark shook his head, looking away. "_It's nothing that's like before... It's just... I keep finding out things that I probably should have known all along, but somehow really overlooked it, and it makes me feel... Oh, I don't know..._" Dark groaned and dropped his head on the table again, causing a mug of tea to scoot a few inches from the jolt.

"..." Mephiles bit his lip, wondering if he should let it drop for now. "... If it's something bad... Please just let me know, alright..?"

"_... Of course... I learned my lesson from last time..._" Dark forced a short laugh, sliding his hand across the table to reach the mug and drag it towards him, lifting his head to take a sip. "_Believe me, I have..._"

"Promise?"

"_Mephy, trust me, I mean it._" Dark lifted his ears and shifted his eyes to look at him wearily.

"I sure hope so." The hedgehog nodded, looking at the floor, smiling a little at the cat that was circling Dark's feet before siting down and pawing at Dark and mewling for attention. "Looks like Tape wants to be sure, too."

"_Mmm-hmm..._" Dark mumbled, not even looking down at the cat.

Tape reached up and spread out his claws, causing Dark to cringe and hold back a hiss of pain when he felt them against his leg.

"_Geeze!_" Dark actually fell out of his chair almost comically. Flat on his back, Dark huffed in annoyance as the cat crawled up on his chest fur and sat there, staring him in the eyes, unfazed.

Mephiles held back a laugh at this antic, and stepped away for a moment to open the fridge.

"_What are you doing!_" Dark shouted, tilting his head back to try and follow him, but his quills were restricting some movement. "_You can't leave me like this!_"

"Relax, I'm just getting something out of the fridge." Mephiles assured him, biting back another laugh. "Have you eaten yet, by the way?"

"_Aside from the tea, no..._"

"That's not food, Dark." Mephiles said sternly, shaking his head. "You know better."

Dark didn't answer right away, and merely grunted as he pushed the cat off carefully, and sat up.

"Daaaark?"

"_Oh, c'mon, it's not like I'm starving myself right now..._" Dark growled, fixing the chair's position and got back into it. "_So I missed one, so what? I just wasn't hungry at the moment._"

"Well, I'm sure you'll change your mind soon enough." Mephiles said teasingly in a singsong like tone, shoving a large bowl to to center of the table. "I asked Rouge to keep an eye out for these so it'd be a great bowl of fruit."

If Dark was trying to hide his sudden eagerness for the tasty foods, especially the excessive amount of several varieties of melon... he was doing so quite poorly.

"_... That's quite a lot between us... Is there a particular reason for that..?_" Dark tried to look away and act normal, but his eyes kept drawing back to the bowl.

"No, not really..." The hedgehog beamed, pulling out a couple strawberry slices and giving them to Krystal and Sharpe before taking one for himself as well. "I just know you'd prefer this over most other things to eat..."

Dark nodded in agreement, unable to speak because he had shoved three pieces of cantaloupe in his mouth without considering the consequence of looking quite ridiculous doing so.

"Goodness, smaller pieces next time!" Mephiles blinked, perking his ears in alarm at this. "You need to be able to chew them, y'know? That's enough to choke on!"

Dark sent him a quick glare, but continued anyway.

"_I know what I'm doing._" Dark grunted, taking another piece.


	57. Final Chapter and it is LONG

Sorry for taking so long. This is the end of Flux, so I have to get started on the next story now... :D ^^;

* * *

In an odd twist, several days later, it would be _Dark_ to be the one to wake up because one of them sensed something… off.

Hearing a series of quiet but familiar whimpers, Dark lifted his head up groggily to look around the room in a bleary fashion, trying to figure out what exactly was happening. The small cat curled up beside him squeaked at the movement and rooted deeper beneath the blanket.

Well, the room was empty save for the intended occupants. The house was not on fire, nor was it flooding. Not a single strange other worldly entity was standing about, watching him like some voyeur or whatever. The rain outside was drumming the window, and a slight rumble was heard in the distance, so that was the sound there. And his head felt more silent than it had been in weeks. What could the disturbance be..?

Yawning and shifting his attention the other bed, twitching his ears, he caught another sound, this time a low howl of dread, and a set of crystal coated hands were pulling a pillow over a head, to hide.

_… Is… Is Mephy having a nightmare..?_ Dark was suddenly more alert, but still uncertain. _… Should I wake him up, or get someone..?_

Knowing that Mephiles did not suffer from the same parasomnias as himself, and so the likelihood of being attacked out of confusion was very slim, Dark decided to risk waking him up himself.

At the touch on the shoulder, the hedgehog jumped and sat up partially, far too quickly to have actually been asleep to begin with, given that Mephiles was known for being an incredibly hard-to-rouse sleeper whenever the hedgehog dozed off.

"_… Were you even asleep to begin with?_" Dark raised an eyebrow in concern.

Mephiles' ears were perked up in alertness, with the hedgehog staring ahead with an almost fearfully captivated expression. Another rumble from outside caused him to grasp his ears, pull down and moan miserably in a quiet tone as a distant flicker of light happened several seconds later.

It took Dark a moment, but he finally realized why Mephiles was so upset.

"_… You're scared of the thunder outside, aren't you..?_" Dark knew plenty of possible valid reasons as to why the hedgehog could be afraid, ranging from the noise itself, to the natural born instinct to run, to the sheer amount of untamed electricity striking down from the sky (though Dark knew that lightning actually started from the ground first).

Mephiles looked at where he could see the reflective shine from Dark's eyes, bitting down on his lip, not answering right away.

"… I g-guess that wouldn't s-surprise you…" He mumbled after fifteen second pause, holding his hands over his ears, eyes very wide. "… S-since I'm sc-scared of j-just about everything…"

"_Actually, no, it doesn't very much._" Dark shook his head and shrugged lightly while Mephiles groaned again. "_But it's not for that reason. For one, your ears are very sensitive. And I could go on and on about all the things that could happen because of lightning, but I don't think I want to make you feel any worse than you already do._"

"… G-great… Now I know it's p-possible for th-things to go wrong…" The hedgehog whimpered as another bout of thunder was heard, followed by a slightly brighter flash of light that didn't quite reach the room yet, and the hedgehog buried himself deeper into his blankets.

"_I'm really not good at this, can you tell?_" Dark huffed, mentally kicking himself.

Yet another roar of thunder, much louder than before, cracked somewhere directly above the house, and filled the room with perhaps the brightest light Dark could ever think of having seen.

The both of them screamed in fright and in seconds, the door was flung open and the hedgehog and the shadow scrambled out in a panic, stopping at the other bedroom door and pounding their fists on it in rapid succession.

The door was opened by half asleep Rouge, a little surprised that anyone had knocked on her door for the first time in months, and even a little more surprised to see Mephiles standing there, covering his ears, and Dark there holding his hands over his eyes, peering through his fingers timidly, both of them whimpering almost pitifully (though, she had heard them shout to begin with, hence why she had gotten to the door so quickly after they had knocked.

"… Let me guess…" She held up a hand to gesture for them to not speak, and pointed to Mephiles first. "Thunder." Then she pointed to Dark. "Lightning."

Both nodded anxiously, flinching when another loud roar and flash of light filled the house. Mephiles looked at Rouge, wondering why she wasn't reacting to the sound like he was, and she noticed him staring at her ears.

"Earplugs." She gave a small smile, reaching up to adjust them a little to clear up her hearing just enough to hear any verbal responses. "And before you ask: Yes, you can if you want to."

Mephiles' eyes brightened a little behind the nerve wracked stare he had gained from fearing the weather outside, while Dark, who tried to hide his anxiety of having another sensory assault from another bright flash, merely lifted his ears to acknowledge the statement without appearing foolishly excited like a child.

Ten minutes later saw to it that their basic bedding (as well as the Chao egg, two other Chao, and a cat…) was retrieved and set up near their old spots on the floor, and beneath the blue blanket you would find a shadow trying to shield his eyes, while sitting on top of the purple blanket was the hedgehog holding a pillow over his ears, shuddering ever so slightly.

"Hold on, let's try something here." Rouge said, stepping to the dresser and pulling open a drawer to dig through it before retrieving a couple items. "See if these help…"

Mephiles looked up at her and eyed the earplugs in her hand, still holding the pillow over his ears tightly with both hands. He didn't seem to want to take the chance to leave his ears exposed for even a few seconds if he was to use them, but he didn't want to seem rude for being hesitant about the offer.

"Don't worry, they'll work a lot better than the pillow, kid." Rouge said gently, getting level with him and trying to coax Mephiles into using them. "Frees up your hands more, and you'll be able to sleep on it better."

Mephiles made a meek sound and shook his head a little, biting down on his lip, wide eyes starting to brim with tears. He wasn't purposely being stubborn, he was just a little anxious and fussy because of the weather outside, thunder rattling in his poor sensitive ears and invoking that instinctual need to run and hide.

"No? How about if I hold the pillow still while you slide your hands under and put them in that way, then?" Rouge still tried to convince him as carefully as she could.

It was at least a minute before Mephiles finally spoke up, having just whimpered and moaned fearfully until he had.

"… I-I'm not b-being a b-baby, y-y'know..?" He stuttered, blinking and appearing briefly annoyed with himself for letting a few tears drop. "… I-it's a p-perfectly logical th-thing to b-be a-af-fraid of, isn't it..? I-it hurts m-my ears…" He looked up at her timidly. "… A-and wh-what if i-it-?"

"It won't." She said reassuringly before he could even word it, which caused him to give her a strange look. "You don't have to say what you're afraid of happening because of the weather out there, because you're where it's safe."

Mephiles responded with another low howl of apprehension at another crack of thunder, which sounded, if possible, a little less loud than the previous one, but no less frightening.

Shadow, who has remarkably been sound asleep, snoring, despite most of the noise, finally snorted and opened an eye, blearily surveying the situation as he pushed up from the floor and rubbed at his other eye with the heel of his palm.

Upon seeing an upset Mephiles once he peered around the corner of the bed, Shadow immediately frowned, not in annoyance, mind you.

"Alright, what happened this time?"

Mephiles quickly hung his head low when he heard Shadow's flat tone, quite convinced that Shadow would not approve of him being… Oh, what was the term Shadow used sometimes..? A sissy… Yeah, that sounded about right.

"The thunder's making his ears hurt and he doesn't exactly want to let go of the pillow to put these earplugs in." Rouge explained, making sure her word choice was not suggesting that Mephiles was actually more frightened of the thunder than the sound itself's effect on his ears. "And Dark said the light flashes are hurting his eyes, so he's under the blanket over there."

"_… Just so we're clear, I wasn't scared…_" A low growl sounded from the blue fabric lump on the floor. "_… My eyes just hurt…_"

"I got something for that too, actually." Rouge said without taking her eyes of Mephiles. "Just as soon as I take care of this…"

The lump shifted and moved closer, almost in an inchworm fashion, until well within reach, and a hand inched out from underneath the blanket, trying to locate said item as it groped along the floor.

"It's not there."

"_… Mephy, could you hurry up so that I could get my thing, too, please..?_" Dark grunted, withdrawing back in at another sound of thunder. "_… I'm running out of breathable air under here, too, but my eyes still feel very sensitive to light changes, so I'm not coming out until I've got something for that…_"

This seemed to spark a bit of motivation with Mephiles on getting those earplugs in, much to everyone's relief.

But, mere seconds after getting them in place, the hedgehog seemed agitated again, reaching up to claw at them (which now brought up the need to pin his arms until he calmed down) almost hysterically, crying out louder than he normally would, due to the warped sound perception he now had from muffling his ears: "EVERYTHING SOUNDS VERY WRONG!"

This caused them to have to explain, after he managed to free an arm and dig out one of the earplugs frantically, for what felt like ten minutes, that it was perfectly normal to block out a lot of the ambient sounds he was very used to, as well as it was alright that it was in no way damaging to his ears, among other things the hedgehog was rattling on and on about fearfully.

Dark had a brief, similar reaction to the eye cover he was given (in fact, the very same one Mephiles had brought for him prior to them being separated), in which he tore it off his face (not in a damaging way, mind you), and flung it across the room with a quick shout, trembling for a short while before immediately catching and composing himself, flushing furiously.

"_… S-sorry… A b-bit too dark…_" He folded his arms and looked at the floor, squeezing his eyes shut at another flash of lightning.

"How can something be 'too dark' for you?" Shadow stated loudly, mostly exasperated by the fact that there where two young boys in the room that were not being very cooperative in any attempts to help, and furthermore, one of them was being uncharacteristically difficult and borderline inconsolable.

Dark opened an eye a little and glared back, frowning slightly.

"_… Of course_ you_ would have forgotten why…_" He huffed under his breath, fidgeting a bit as if trying to keep himself from lashing out at him. "_… I just like being able to see what's around me…_"

Whatever response Shadow had set up was quickly extinguished when Mephiles gave him that particular "… Don't you dare…" look, so he wisely held it back, and everyone eventually settled in for the night once Mephiles' ears and Dark's eyes were each given a proper defense against the thunder and lightning.

* * *

"Y'know… I don't think I can really ever recall seeing you be this happy before…" Mephiles said, smiling his small smile as he sat on the couch, holding the Chao on his lap, his legs crossed, touching his fingers against the shell for any new signs of activity in there, wondering how long until it hatched. "… It's nice…"

Dark, who was busy piecing together a puzzle of ten thousand pieces, each one easily being fitted into a proper spot without hesitation before he picked up the next one, looked up with his eyes.

"_It's just a puzzle…_"

"No… I mean…" Mephiles shook his head and fumbled in his mind for a suitable explanation. "… You're not draped over the arm of the couch, or… With your head on the table, looking sad…"

"_Because I'm not depressed right now, Mephy._" Dark bit back a small grin for some strange reason, and continued his project, piecing two pieces together that had been plucked out of the pile on the floor, incredibly the proper pieces that belonged together. "_… It's a cycle, most of the time, that I can hardly control… It helps to have external influences, however…_" He set the pieces aside and grabbed two more. "_… It'll come back, eventually, like always…_"

"… I wish it wouldn't…" Mephiles mumbled, drooping his ears and fidgeting his fingers. "… I don't like it when you're sad… It makes me sad, too, when you are…"

"_An unfortunate side effect of your empathic abilities, no doubt._" Dark stated as if that was the simple answer, seemingly missing the entire point. Four more pieces were locked together. "_It really can't be helped if you feel what I do… And I can't help just how I feel sometimes…_" Dark mumbled almost sourly, pressing a piece too hard and bending it near the center unintentionally. He didn't seem to notice.

"… I know… But…" Mephiles said in a quiet voice, as if worried about invoking a fit if he continued to press further. "… I don't like _seeing_ you sad… Especially when nothing I do can really help much…"

"_… Well, that doesn't mean you should stop trying._" Dark paused in his activity, but continued to stare ahead, not looking at the hedgehog. "_… It helps more than you think. Trust me._"

"… Yeah… But…" Mephiles added anxiously. "… I just wish you'd be able to be… Less sad, you know..?"

"_… I am, right now…_"

"… No, I mean overall…" Mephiles fidgeted again, this time only slightly. "… It's the one thing about you that I wish I could change…"

Perhaps that was the wrong thing to say. Maybe the word choice could have been better selected. The time could have just been the least appropriate time to let that slip.

Because almost instantly, Mephiles felt an almost crippling sensation spike through him, shocking the very breath out of his lungs. Gasping harshly to get a good inhale of air before he passed out from oxygen deprivation by this involuntary reaction, he looked back at Dark with watering eyes, the hedgehog knowing that the feeling had not been entirely on his own accord.

Dark himself had slumped forward and curled inward, huddled into a defensive ball, shuddering, rocking slightly and burying his face in his hands, as if wanting to hide or disappear altogether. He was clearly upset, and Mephiles quickly thought back to figure what must have caused this abrupt change in demeanor and emotion.

Mephiles couldn't tell if his heart sank any more than it felt, because Dark's emotions were almost overriding his own, but he realized the possible trigger.

_… I just said I wanted to change something about him…_ Mephiles thought, tearing up again, feeling like he wanted to kick himself at the very least. _… He probably heard that as me saying something about him wasn't good enough! That's not what I meant at all!_

Sniffling loudly, trying to keep himself from losing it altogether from feeling more than his own emotions, the hedgehog tried to come up with a solution to restore calm and order, and quickly. Preferably quietly, too… The last thing needed right now would be for the situation to escalate quickly from a misunderstanding by someone who wasn't here when this started.

Dark shifted a little, and though his back was facing Mephiles, the hedgehog could see that his arms were now crossed on the floor, his head buried in them, humming some tuneless melody. He was no less upset than he was minutes ago.

Mephiles carefully pushed the large egg aside and slid off the couch and to the floor, biting his lip to try and focus on not bursting into tears.

_… Maybe if I think happy thoughts… I'll be able to think more clearly…_ He blinked, trying to control his breathing, as he was close to crying anyway, now. _… I need to do something right now that'll snap him out of it for sure…_

Knowing that with Dark withdrawn as he was at the moment, the hedgehog's usual method of merely wrapping his arms around his dear shadow brother to comfort him, would do more harm than good right now. Dark would likely have a fit at the contact, regardless that it was nothing more than Mephy doing so, and thus might provoke an unintended lash out, which would cause the both of them to be even more upset… And at least one of them injured in someway.

Recalling that there was still at least a serving of the assorted fruit left, with four pieces of Dark's most favorite part… Mephiles quickly retrieved the container from the fridge, popped the top open, and set it down in front of Dark, hoping the idea of a favored treat would entice the distraught shadow to uncurl from his little shell and listen to the apology and assurance that the words were not meant to have meant as they had sounded.

Without looking up or raising his head at all, Dark lifted his hand and shoved the plastic bowl away, not even seeming to care or notice the contents inside.

"… D-Did you even notice the c-cantaloupe in it..?" Mephiles stated in moderate surprise, pushing the bowl back in place. Dark must indeed be very upset, if he was to refuse his favorite food. The hedgehog felt even worse for triggering this state.

Dark raised his hand again, this time smacking it down, catching the edge of the bowl and toppling it over, spilling the fruit on the carpet. Then he continuously beat the side of his fist on the floor, crushing and smearing fruit on each strike.

"… You're m-making a mess, D-Dark…" Mephiles sighed in exasperation, wondering if he'll ever manage to calm him down before attention was drawn to them once Shadow and Rouge got back from the market. "… C'mon, now…" He slid his hand, palm side up, under where Dark's fist was going to hit next, and quickly caught it in an awkward hold, reaching his other hand over to grab it better, locking his fingers around Dark's at the knuckles. "… It's alright… Th-That wasn't what I meant at all…"

Feeling the restraint on his hand, realizing that he wasn't able to move it the same way as he had been seconds ago, Dark quickly tried to pull it free, still not looking up, and managing a low howl of dread when he couldn't pull it back.

"… D-Dark.. It's j-just me…" Mephiles loosened his grip a little to let Dark slip his hand free, realizing that restraining Dark at all would likely cause him to panic. Darn, he was starting to run out of options. The holding his hand idea didn't work. The _cantaloupe_ didn't work. Hugging him seemed almost ludicrous at this point, if he liked his arms where they were.

_… What if I rub his back or pet his head or something similar…_ The hedgehog pondered, clearing the tears from his eyes as be did. _… It's still contact, but it's not restricting…_

Not expecting an answer from anyone anyway, he went ahead and cautiously reached for Dark's head, placing his hand on it before sliding his fingers carefully along the direction the fur and quills grew, stopping when he reached where it was nothing but quills, and moved his hand back to where he started, repeating the action.

Dark went tense and the humming stopped. He lifted his head slightly, cheeks damp and eyes glaring at Mephiles in such a way that the hedgehog froze with his action, somewhat scared now. Mephiles blinked and recovered a little from being stunned.

"… Um… I-I.." He stuttered, fumbling to get the words right to explain. "… Th-that didn't… I d-didn't-"

"_Dire said that you are always looking for something wrong with me._" Dark growled, folding his ears even further back. "_Said that you weren't satisfied with the way I am._"

"Wha-what! When did-! How c-could-!" Mephiles squeaked and sputtered in shock, wide eyes and horrified. "When d-did he s-say that! He's b-been gone for c-couple months now!"

"_… He started saying that when he let me know he was there…_" Dark hid his face again, mumbling now and slumping his curled form a little. "_… I know he's gone, but what he said about you still hurts… Even if I know it's not true…_"

"…" Mephiles was stunned quite effectively, seemingly at a loss for words before he recovered again, frowning sadly. "… Dark… D-Do you honestly think for even a _s-second_ that I'd would h-hurt you like that?"

There was an awkward pause, and Mephiles nearly burst into tears from the silence before Dark finally answered.

"_… N-No… It just sounded… wrong at the moment…_" Dark whispered, lifting his head again just enough to stare. "_… I simply overreacted… S-sorry…_"

"… That d-doesn't s-seem so s-simple to me…" Mephiles lifted his ears slightly, not changing his expression. "… Th-there's more to it, isn't there..?"

Dark buried his face again and grunted, not really giving a clear verbal answer.

Mephiles took a deep breath and reached a hand to the shadow's shoulder, setting it on it gently, watching Dark for any signs or warning that a strike was headed the hedgehog's way for making contact when he was upset.

"Why don't you tell me about it..?"

"_… I don't wanna talk about that… That_ thing…" Dark growled, giving a forceful shrug to try and shake the hand off his shoulder, but Mephiles managed to keep it on. "_… I don't wanna think about _any_ of that… I just wanna forget it…_"

"… D-Dark… I hardly even know _what_ happened to you…" Mephiles reasoned. "I'm not asking you to relive it or t-tell everything at once… But it would be nice t-to know just how and why you got hurt so bad!"

Dark went stiff again. He lifted his head a little higher than the previous attempts, eyes narrowed.

"_… Typical… You're the one who ends up in a coma after being beaten to a pulp, and yet you think _I'm_ the one who's worse off…_" There was a ghost of a smile hidden on his face at the thought. "_… Do you ever once think of yourself first..?_"

"… Not really…" Mephiles' face flushed a little. "… I mean, I went all over the planet to get you back… That says something, doesn't it..?"

"_… Yes…_" Dark said slowly, softening his glare a little. He still hasn't sat up from the floor yet. "_… Yes, I believe it does…_"

"That's what I figured, too." Mephiles gave a small smile, patting Dark on the back, which Dark flinched at a few times before relaxing just as soon as the hedgehog rested his hand there. "Now, what's on your mind?"

"_Fur and quills._" Dark said flatly, but could hardly hide the smirk once he saw Mephiles' bewildered, caught-off-guard look.

Mephiles blinked.

"That's on your head. I mean 'what are you thinking?'" Mephiles shook his head.

"_Thoughts_" Dark said without hesitation, eyes glinting with amusement at Mephiles' reactions.

"No! Like: What's going on in your brain?" The hedgehog was getting flustered.

"_Synapses_" Dark bit back a laugh, finding this quite enjoyable.

"I-I don't even _know_ what those are!" Mephiles shouted in exasperation, waving his hands in frustration.

Dark laughed. Not a crazed one. Or broken in an attempt to hide behind it. Or hysterical from lack of sleep or mind numbing trauma. Or even weak, or otherwise unnerving or sad laugh. An actual, genuine, honestly amused laugh. Perhaps a bit too soft, really, but nevertheless, quite noticeable.

"What's so funny..?" Mephiles was surprised, as he couldn't recall the last time Dark had laughed like that, if at all. He had gotten so used to Dark either being depressed or only laughing madly when under a lot of stress, that he had forgotten altogether what Dark's laugh was like.

"_… Such a silly hedgehog…_" Dark finally picked himself up off the floor and sat more comfortably, small smile still present.

"… Hmm?" Mephiles looked at him in confusion now. "… How am I silly?"

"_No special reason, other than because I say so._"

Mephiles blinked, not forgetting the whole reason this part of the conversation had started.

"… If you say so…"

"_That's what I said._"

"I know, but…" Mephiles raised his eyebrows. "… Uh… Hey… You, um… You want me to get you anything..?"

"_… What kind of 'anything'..?_"

"… I dunno. Like, tea or something..?" Mephiles shrugged nervously, watching him closely. "Something to make you feel a little better…"

"_… Hmm…_" Dark thought for a moment, trying to decide if he could think of anything worth asking for. "_… I suppose asking for the leftover fruit would be a bad idea, considering I just managed to crush the majority of it into the carpet…_"

"Yeah, I should probably clear that up before it sets." Mephiles nodded slowly as Dark blushed a little from embarrassment once he completely realized as to how the fruit managed to get all over the side of his hand as well as smeared into the carpet. "… Oh, don't worry. It really wasn't your fault… I just said the wrong choice of words and that really upset you." The hedgehog reached a hand out to the shadow's back, trying to give a reassuring gesture. "Whatever it must've sounded like to you, it's not what I meant at all. I meant that, if I could, I'd make it to where you'd never get so depressed again, and you could be happier more."

"_… I said I was sorry for overreacting…_"

"I'm not blaming you for anything." Mephiles drooped his ears again. "… Uh… Hey, do you know if we can get Iblis to come over here today..?"

"_… You have just as much contact with him as I do…_" Dark raised his eyebrows this time.

"Well, he's _your_ twin, so I thought you might have some kinda… Oh, y'know, that thing twins do…" The hedgehog scratched his head.

"_And what exactly do you think twins do, if you don't mind me asking?_"

"Y'know, like how we can sense each other's emotions… But, like… Thoughts..?" Mephiles shrugged nervously.

"_… What kinda shows have you been watching lately?_" Dark stared at him before trying to stifle a laugh. "_Mind reading? Really? If anything, it's emotions just like you and me._"

"… Can you blame me for asking, after all the weird abilities we keep finding out that we have?" Mephiles stuck his tongue out in displeasure.

* * *

It was the middle of the night many hours later, and Dark could not sleep, no matter how hard he tried.

It was not because he was suffering yet another insomniatic episode, but merely because he observed that he couldn't help but feel so… Vulnerable.

No matter how small of a ball he curled into, nor how deep he burrowed under the covers, he still felt rather nervous and uncomfortable. Sleeping with his back to the wall made him feel like he too exposed, and turning over to face the wall made him feel as though anything to easily creep up on him before he could he able to react fast enough.

_… This is ridiculous… Nothing could get in here without Mephy's senses going nuts…_ He tried to reason with himself, shaking his head slightly and pulling the blanket over it, leaving just enough space to poke his nose out to breathe.

Five minutes later, and he still couldn't fall asleep.

Deciding that enough was enough, Dark huffed and threw the covers off, pinching the bridge of his nose with a groan briefly before sitting up and sliding off the bed.

The movement had disturbed a certain little cat that had been curled up on the softest part of the foot of the bed, where all the blankets Dark had deemed "excessive" had been shoved to, as Dark only decided to use the top one that night for temperature reasons. A soft squeak sounded from the black and white cat, who didn't sound too pleased at the rude awakening, and Dark immediately reached for Tape without much thought, and held him with one arm, supporting the cat's weight effectively under the chest with the hand if that same arm. Tape purred at the contact, which earned a quick and quiet snort of mild amusement from Dark.

_… So aside from my cat… I'm probably the only one awake at this hour…_ He heaved a sigh, glancing at the bed opposite of his, which he could see the hedgehog buried beneath blankets, two Chao and a Chao egg that was wrapped up in another blanket as well, placed between him and the wall to keep it from falling off the other edge of the bed. _… Sometimes, I wish I could fall asleep that easily…_ He told himself with a slight bit of jealousy.

Deciding that there was no way he was going to be able to fall asleep himself anytime soon for whatever reason, Dark settled on the idea of migrating to the kitchen briefly, grabbing a juice pouch from the fridge and seeing if that would help in any way.

Setting Tape down on the bed, he left for his task, the cat silently flooding after him, weaving around the shadow's feet, causing Dark to be cautious of where he stepped.

With the sort of silent skill only a creature that specialized in being unnoticeable, as he did, could do, Dark opened the fridge, located the box of juice pouches behind the milk, pulled one out carefully, stuck the straw in it, and closed the fridge without so much as a sound of jostling.

He turned, and nearly dropped it in shock as he inhaled sharply and pressed his back against the fridge as he jumped back.

His twin happened to be sitting on the floor in the corner by the back door, somewhat damp looking, and appeared just as equally startled to see someone in the room as well, but quickly calmed down once he saw who it was.

"… It's wet out there…"

Dark took a bit longer to recover, having not expected to have anything happen beyond just getting his juice pouch, which he was now aware of having squeezed it a bit too hard and lost some of the juice on the tiled floor.

"_… What if someone else saw you..?_" Dark tried his best to keep his voice down, ears pinned back at just how careless that was. He could swear he felt his heart pounding in his throat from the shock of being caught off guard like that. At the very least, Iblis seemed to have the forethought of being in his other form, should he have come across someone he didn't want to know who he really was.

"… As long as I'm 'Shu', no one is going to know it's really me…"

"_And how we're you going to explain how you got in here without being let in?_" Dark huffed, dropping his arms to his side. "_Did it occur to you that being found in here, this time of night, when the house should be locked, is pretty dang suspicious?_"

"… But… It's wet out there…" Iblis/Shu stated as if that was the obvious answer, even blinking as if dumbfounded as to why Dark didn't see why. "… You wouldn't make me stay out there while there's cold water in the air, would you..?"

"_… No…_" Dark mumbled, loosening his grip on the juice pouch, heaving a sigh. "_… But what if you got caught..?_"

"… Then tell them it was wet outside, and that you couldn't leave me out there." Shu smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"_That's beside the point…_" Dark heaved a sigh and reached for the chair closest to him, so he could sit down. "_What if I wasn't the one who just came in here? How would you explain that, then?_"

"… Um…"

"_Exactly._"

"… Well, I could say that you already let me in."

"_Okay, so say you did say that…_" Dark rubbed at his eyes with the backs of his hands to keep the claws away from his face. "_Now, if I was asleep, and I got woken up to be questioned about it… There's a very likely chance that I'd not realize what I should be saying to back that up, and in a half awake stupor, I'd end up denying such a thing had happened. Problem._"

"Aren't you a somnambulist?" Shu tilted his head a little while he looked at Dark.

"_Yeah. So?_"

"Then why not pass that off as something you did while you were asleep?"

"_Because I have no idea what I'll end up doing when I'm sleepwalking._" Dark sounded a bit frustrated that his point was not being taken. "_I don't preplan what I might do ahead of time, it just happens. I could end up under a tree if the doors aren't locked well enough for me to not push the doors open. Or I could end up in here, stacking dishes and utensils. Or I could speak utter nonsense the whole time. None of which are activities I normally do._"

"You're smart, I'm sure you'd figure something out."

Before Dark could respond to that, his ears twitched and he stiffened abruptly with a sharp gasp before he spun out of the chair, knocking it to the floor, and pressing his back to a cabinet by the sink, shrinking to the ground submissively. Very vaguely, he noticed that he had flung the juice pouch clear across the room this time.

The reason he had done this was because he had become extremely aware of a third individual who was now standing in the doorway.

Had it been Mephiles, Dark would have quickly regained his composure, and eased back down into a more relaxed state.

Had it been Rouge, Dark would have been extremely worried about how much she heard, considering her acute sense of hearing. Maybe she'd be more understanding, but that was asking a bit much too soon, considering what Iblis had dragged them all through many months ago.

But no, it was Shadow.

Of all the people to show up at this time, it had to be the most stern and least understanding of them all.

_Calm down, maybe he didn't hear much of it!_ Dark tried to reason with himself, breathing far too quickly to be normal, and shuddering too much to stand on his feet at the moment. _Maybe he just heard the last part, that wasn't too revealing, was it? I don't think so, but still it-Oh, geeze, I don't think I feel good right now!_

Shadow was looking at the half squeezed juice pouch on the floor, which was at his feet, before looking up at the other two boys, one of which was not a regular member of the household.

"What are-?"

"_It was wet outside and I'm sleepwalking!_" Dark shouted almost too quickly, before stammering and trying again, shaking his head frantically and folding his ears back. "_I-I mean I was and it's raining, so he came in! Uh, no, wait! I mean-!_"

"I think you startled him…" Shu smiled nervously, gesturing with a small and quick movement for Dark to stop. "S-Sorry, but I think he meant to say that it's raining outside, and since I really have no place to go at a time like this, he let me in so I didn't get sick from being wet out there at night…"

"At this hour..?" Shadow raised an eyebrow. "… I guess it'd be cruel to make you leave right now, since it's raining pretty bad out there…" He agreed with a slight shrug. "But it would have made more sense to ask us earlier if you could stay before it got this late…"

"I didn't expect it to start raining tonight. So I didn't realize I would have needed to consider that…" Shu scratched behind his ear, looking at the floor. "… Besides… You obviously already have quite a few occupants here, so I doubt there'd be a place for me to sleep… Though a floor would be better than nothing, I suppose…"

Dark was still stammering loudly, but this time without intelligible words, trying to string them together to at least utter one viable explanation out of his sudden affliction of word salad.

"Dark..? You can stop now. We've already explained it."

Looking up with a somewhat pitiful expression, Dark nodded slowly in acknowledgement, mumbling something under his breath.

"Hmm..?"

"_… I didn't even get to drink my juice yet…_" Dark huffed with a disgruntled snort, eyeing the pouch that was still on the floor. "_… Not that it matters… Half of it's already been squeezed out on the floor or my hand… Keep scaring me, everyone does…_"

"I suppose we could get you another." Shu shrugged, looking back at Shadow briefly.

"_… It's not the same… I wanted the one _I_ picked out._" Dark was unreasonably grumpy about the subject, but to be fair, it was late, he hadn't slept well that night yet, and he had only intended on retrieving his little treat before trying to fall asleep again. So far, he had only accomplished is wasting half of it, and having the ever loving bejesus scared out of him twice in the short time frame of ten minutes. "_… Not that I can now… Half wasted, it is… Hmph…_"

"… Yeah… Um… Anyway…" Shu blinked before looking back at Shadow nervously. "… Um… Is it too late to ask if I can stay here until it's dryer outside..?"

"You really have no place to go?"

"No, not really."

"No family at all?"

"Not for as long as I can re-"

"_Oh, would you look at that!_" Dark interrupted quickly, holding one side of his head with a hand, squinting. "_How unfortunate, but it appears that something has triggered a migraine and I really should be leaving now to lie back down!"_

"You sound unusually coherent for experiencing a migraine…" Shadow raised an eyebrow slowly, folding his arms. "Usually you don't speak much when it happens."

"_It's just starting, so maybe we should just wrap this up before it gets bad enough that I vomit on this nicely cleaned tile!_"

"Okay, that sounds less like a prediction and more like a threat."

"_Oh, no… A threat of the like would be saying I intend to mess up that lovely white patch of fur you have there, much like that one time…_" Dark smirked a little at this. "_Though that one time was purely an accident, but it would be a real shame if it happened again, don't you think..?_"

"… Are… Are you actually threatening me with barf..?" Shadow had one side of his face scrunched at the thought.

"_Not exactly… But being that I know several outcomes of this entire situation… One of which involves it taking too long to resolve before my migraine hits full swing, so of course I get sick, having not laid down and make myself immobile for the rest of the night._" Dark picked himself up from the floor and braced himself against the cabinet behind him, nodding slowly. "_… Granted, it's not set in stone, but do you really want to see which outcome we're lucky to have..?_"

"Alright, alright… He can stay." Shadow said hastily, waving his hands in front of him, cringing at the idea that he might have to end up dumping another half of a bottle of shampoo on his chest to clean it again. "We don't have enough beds, but I'm sure something will work out. Just get out of here before you have an accident or something…"

"_… Gladly…_" Dark grinned a little and carefully headed his way out of the kitchen, past Shadow, who flinched briefly and stepped well enough away until he felt his precious fluff was safe. "_Good night, then…_"

Shu carefully followed after, mumbling "… Thank You…" and looking at the ground.

Once back in the room, Dark shut the door behind Shu, heaved a sigh, and lowered his hand from his head, huffing a little.

"_I hope you're grateful for this… I had to give up a juice pouch so you didn't get backed into a corner with any questions he might have…_"

"Sure are intent on getting that thing, aren't you?"

"_It's a cantaloupe juice pouch!_" Dark whispered furiously. "_One of which I didn't even get to have!_"

"Oh, I see…" Shu blinked. "… Well, I think it would have been hard to enjoy it with that migraine…"

"_I faked that one to get you out of there._"

"…." Shu was stunned briefly. "… You really shouldn't use that like that… Karma might make the next one worse, y'know..?"

"_It was the first thing I thought of…_" Dark said sheepishly, looking down at the floor. "_… I panicked…_"

"… You f-faked a migraine, Dark..?"

Having not expected the hedgehog to be actually awake at the moment, Dark made an utterance of shock, jumped back, slipped on a notebook he had tossed to the floor earlier, and fell backwards, flailing frantically before being caught by Shu before he could hit the floor.

"… S-sorry…" Mephiles stuttered in a meek tone.

"_I swear, someone here is going to actually scare me to death tonight!_" Dark choked out between gasps, trembling from a post adrenaline rush as Shu/Iblis pushed him back up to stand, though Dark still leaned a little bit against him.

"… I d-didn't mean to scare you, but I k-kinda wonder what's going on…"

"I sorta scared him earlier by having gotten in here out of the rain, and Shadow happened to come in not long after, and startled him again, so he's a bit on edge at the moment…" Shu explained, keeping his voice low to not be heard outside the room. "… Long story short, I can stay here for now… At least until it stops raining…"

"… I sensed that D-Dark got scared a while ago, so th-that's what woke me up…" The hedgehog nodded slowly. "… But I heard m-most of it anyway…"

"How did-?"

"… I'm th-the one with s-super hearing, remember..?"

"… Oh… Right…"

"… Quick s-save there, b-but still, that was kinda risky…" Mephiles bit down on his lower lip, trying to control his stuttering. "… You need t-to be more c-careful… B-both of you…"

"_You think I don't know that?_" Dark snapped back irritably. "_He's the one who's breaking into the house in the middle of the night! I just wanted a juice pouch! In fact, the dang thing is probably in the trash by now because half of it's been squeezed out, and the other half was thrown at Shadow when both of them nearly scared the quills off me!_"

"You're just not going to let the whole juice thing go, are you?" Shu sighed.

"_… Well… It… C-cantaloupe flavor…_"

"We'll get you a new one in the morning…" Mephiles yawned, pulling his pillow over his head.

"_B-but-!_"

"Good night, Dark."

* * *

"_… It's really not advisable to keep my eyes covered like this…_"

"Well, how else am I gonna keep you from looking?"

"_Just keep your hand on my shoulder or something so I know you're there… I don't like being blind like this…_"

"Of course. I wouldn't purposely do that to you. It's just-Watch your step!"

"_I really can't 'watch' anything if you have me blindfolded. What's all this about?_"

"You'll see."

"_I really hope so, because if you don't get this off me in less than five minutes-_"

"Oh, alright, buzzkill."

"_… What did you just-?_" Dark cut himself off once the blindfold was taken off, staring in confusion at what was in front of him.

"Um… Surprise..?" Mephiles said sheepishly, smiling back nervously, anxious about the possible reaction that may happen.

"_… What is this?_" Dark snapped at him, eyeing the decor apprehensively. "_Mephy, I told you I don't want-!_"

"Look, I know you think there's nothing good about that day…" Mephiles' smile faded gradually once he realized his idea hadn't worked according to plan. "But it means something to me, and I want you to feel like that, too."

Dark looked at him sharply, but softened the glare when he saw the hedgehog fidget even more so than usual, apprehensively.

"_… There's no way I'm getting out of here without giving it a try, then, hmm?_" Dark deadpanned in a grunt, staring at a balloon that had been stapled onto the doorframe. _… How did he manage that without popping it..?_

"… I know you said you don't feel like you deserve one, but after all that's gone on…" Mephiles started nervously, looking at the floor for a moment while twisting his fingers in his quill clumps. "… At the very least, you deserve some sort of… Well, you deserve _some_thing. I _know_ you do."

"_… You know I'm not very social._"

"That's why it's just a small group of all of us you know."

"_And I'm very particular about what I eat…_"

"Which is why we made sure this is a one-hundred percent totally vegetarian friendly cake."

"_And you're lactose intolerant, so what about you?_"

"Dairy free frosting." Mephiles snorted, managing the start of a small grin. "Trust me, I think we've thought of everything right now."

"_… Everything, eh..?_" Dark looked around with his eyes, spotting a small stack of wrapped items on the table in front of Shu, who was poking them curiously. "_… Even the fact that his, um… Birthday… Is the same as mine… Or that you insist on sharing yours on the same day..?_"

"This day is about you, Dark, not us." Shu prodded another one, which was somewhat short and wide, before making a small sound of intrigue, and shoved the item forward. "This is heavier than it's size suggests… You should open it first."

"_… Wait… You mean some of those are actually for me..?_" Dark was momentarily astonished at the idea.

"They're all for you, man." Shadow said, back turned as he reached into the cabinet for the plates.

Dark blinked with a blank expression. He didn't quite comprehend "why", much less the custom itself, foreign a concept as it was to him.

"Kid, your jaw is hanging."

Dark blinked again, still keeping his expression as he looked at the bat, also sitting at the table.

"Well, he's stunned." Mephiles stated plainly, biting back a smile. "That's better than I had initially expected from him."

"_… I-if this is part of s-some kind of-! I-is this for real?_" Dark half squawked, struggling to find his voice once he started to regain his bearings. "_S-seriously? Because I c-can't have a birthday i-if I wasn't actually born-_"

"I'm the one created by genetic splicing with alien DNA in space." Shadow spoke over him, setting the stack of plates down. "If anything, you're more native to this planet than I am. And even I have a birthday."

"_B-but I can't-! You s-seriously-!_" Dark was sputtering helplessly, shaking his head and taking a step back. He was contemplating simply turning around and making a mad dash to the nearest open door, and holing himself up in there to get as far away from all this attention as he could, but Mephiles was quick to grab his wrist and pull him to a chair before he had a chance to.

Dark squeaked inaudibly, eyes darting around for any possible means of escape as Mephiles tried to coax him into wearing a paper party hat adorned with blue spots and tissue paper streamers.

"_I-It looks silly! Get it off!_" Dark shouted, bringing his hands up to try and pull it off, but paused when the hedgehog gave him a sad, puppy eyed look, prompting the shadow to say: "_Aw, c'mon! You know I can't say no if you do that! Not fair!_"

"It's not as bad as you put it out as, Dark…" Shu added, snorting a little. "Even I've got one on…"

Dark sputtered again and looked at the greenish hedgehog, realizing Shu did after all have a hat, and even more bizarrely, Kai's egg did as well.

"C'mon, Dark! You really need to just have fun and actually be a kid for once!" Mephiles encouraged, pulling a chair up beside him and putting his arm around his shoulder to keep him from running off. "I'm sure when we're old and and gray and have hair growing out our ears, we're gonna look back on times like these and it'll be nice to know that we don't feel like we missed out on something! Normal kids have birthdays, so don't you want to just be normal even if it's just for today..?"

"_… We're far from normal and you know it…_" Dark muttered only loud enough for Mephiles to hear.

Mephiles nudged him in response.

"Look, I just want you to feel like you're as big a part of everything as I feel like you are…" The hedgehog said, reaching for one of the packages to hand to Dark excitedly. "Open this one first!"

Dark was staring at the gift numbly in his hands, still not quite comprehending the idea completely.

"It's for you. Open it." Mephiles urged, grinning and holding back a giggle. "It's alright, it's not going to jump at you or anything. Open it."

It took a while, but Dark finally took it from him and carefully unwrapped it, peeling off the tape and unfolding the ends to carefully slide out the item inside. Dark wasn't quite familiar with the whole "tear the paper off for fun" custom yet.

"_… It's a… A pillow..?_"

"Not just a pillow…" Mephiles shook his head, still smiling. "It's supposed to have microbead whatevers to make it really comfortable, and I thought that would help when you have a migraine. It's supposed to stay cool too, since I know you don't like things to get too hot."

"_… Well, that's… thoughtful…_"

"You don't like it..?" The hedgehog's ears folded back slowly.

"_I didn't say that! Of course I like it, it's from you!_" Dark said loudly, trying to avoid from upsetting him.

"Because I made sure it wasn't green, too-"

"_I said I liked it! Stop freaking out!_"

"I'm not the one freaking out, you're the one yelling…"

Dark inhaled sharply, and forced a smile slowly.

"_… No, I'm not. I like it, okay? I just can't use it right now._"

"So, you'll use it when you have a migraine next time..?"

"_If that's what it's for, then yes._" Dark nodded slowly.

"Open this one next!"

_… I seriously have no idea what I'm doing…_ Dark thought as he reached for the next gift just as slowly as the last one, looking at everyone watching him.

A set of books on cat care, handling and behavior.

"_Well, this might actually have quite a bit to learn from. This is… Useful._"

"Just don't go all paranoid when you start reading the sections on illnesses and parasites." Shadow said, sweeping the wrappings off the table. "Just because he's got the sniffles, doesn't mean he's got the worst disease. That's what we have veterinarians for, and it's meant to help spot when something is completely off so you can take him to a vet."

"_Well of course, I'm not a pet doctor, why would I try to do that job myself if I don't know what I'm doing..?_"

"That's what we want to hear, good."

The rest of the gifts, which Dark started to get more and more at ease with opening, included a book of number and word puzzles, a new journal that actually had a latch lock on it, several new sunglasses so that he had spares, some K'Nex sets to keep himself busy when he wanted to, and the entire set of the books he had started reading back at Eggmanland. All seven of them.

"Looks like we've got some things to start filling that bookcase in there, now." Mephiles grinned. "Sorry that it's a lot of books, but we figured that you like reading more than something electronic, and quite honestly, a lot of electronic gadgets for kids our age are kinda creepy… Like that odd owl looking thing, that apparently changes personalities on a whim. Scary."

"Really, about ten or so years ago, those things were less scary, and actually kinda cute." Rouge shrugged. "And smaller. And the eyes weren't blinking screens, either. And they sure a heck didn't link up to our music devices, because we had CD and cassette players, so that wasn't even possible…"

"What are cassettes..?" Mephiles blinked. "I know about CDs, but I don't think I've seen a cassette before…"

"… Sweet, Chaos, it's happening." Shadow lifted his ears and widened his eyes. "I keep thinking that kids in the future won't even know about those, but I didn't think it would happen in the now."

"_I know what cassettes are._" Dark shrugged. "_Of course, I know about a lot of things, because that's how my brain works…_"

"So what are they then, Dark?" Shu tilted his head as he leaned forward against the table.

"_The thing before CDs._"

"Well, obviously." Mephiles huffed. "But what are they and what do they look like?"

"They're also called 'tapes'. They're squarish like a brick, plastic shell, and there's a ribbon that the media is stored on that rolls between the reels on either side, and it's read by the machine." Dark stated matter-of-factly without looking up from one of his new books. "_Audio cassettes are for music, and video cassettes, also called VHS, are for videos and movies. They store a lot less than the CDs and DVDs do, and you can't just skip around on the media, because it only goes back and forth, and you have to rewind most of them unless you can flip it over to use that side, and they wear down from use, so they aren't durable…_" Dark calmly turned a page. "_And magnets can competent destroy or erase them, and they are bulkier and heavier and more durable than the disc format if you want to collect, but they were very popular about a decade or two ago before they upgraded…_"

"How do you know that..?" Shadow blinked.

Dark shrugged and muttered something to the tune of "I dunno…"

"… He's right, though…" Rouge said slowly. "… They don't even make new ones of those any more… How did…? You weren't even-? Know what, never mind… Never mind at all…"

* * *

Two weeks have passed now, and we're nearing the time for Kai's egg to hatch. Very near.

"Dark! Dark! Dark! Dark! Look! Look! Dark!" Mephiles ran into the room very excited, holding the egg out in front of him, which was wobbling around on it's own. "Guys! Shadow! Rouge! Everyone! Look! It's shaking! Look! Guys!"

"Alright, alright, calm _down._" Shadow plucked Sharpe off the bookcase, as the little Chao was trying to climb his way to the now somewhat awkward looking motorcycle model Shadow has had to rebuild countless times. "We heard you the first time…"

"Where's Krystal? She's gotta see this, too!" Mephiles had set the egg down on the carpet and was hopping up and down in place excitedly. "She and Kai are really good friends! Dark? You in here yet?"

"_Give me a moment!_"

"You'll miss it!"

"_No, I won't!_"

"Hurry up!"

"_I'll be there!_"

"Shadow, go get him."

"Why me?"

"Because you're the Ultimate..?"

"That's not a good enough reason…"

"Please?"

Shadow sighed.

"Oh, alright. Just stop bouncing around like that."

"Go get him! Go get him! Go get him! Go get him!" The younger hedgehog continued to jump up and down excitedly.

"… Did you have your coffee this morning..?"

"Nope! Not enough time! Egg's hatching! Dark, you'll miss it!" Mephiles shouted excitedly, dropping to sit on the floor now. "What about Shu? Where is he?"

"If he misses it, he'll just have to see the baby Chao afterwards…"

"I don't want him to miss it either! After you get Dark, can you see if he's at the park or something, please?"

"You keep sending me to do things, I'll miss the thing hatching, y'know?" Shadow shook his head and folded his arms.

"Not if you hurry up! Please, and thank you, Shadow!"

"_Alright, I'm here…_"

"Cool! Now you just have to go find Krystal and Shu, Shadow!" Mephiles jumped up and grabbed Dark's wrist to pull him over to sit down next to the egg with him. "It's shaking around, that means it's going to hatch real soon!"

"_At least within an hour or so…_"

"Well, we'll be right here until then!"

"_… Did you have your coffee yet, today..?_"

"No time for that! Egg!" Mephiles pointed to it, as if that was the obvious answer. "What do you think he's gonna look like now?"

"_He was already a Dark Chao, so he's going to be probably the same, but maybe a bit reddish…_"

"Why reddish?"

"_Because basic baby Dark Chao are reddish in tints and tones._"

"Krystal and Sharpe were grayish."

"_Well, they were different. This one was already evolved when you got him._"

"What if he ends up blue? Blue is good!"

"_Will you just be patient and wait?_" Dark folded his arms. "_You'll be disappointed if you build up an expectation, only to get something else._"

"Sharpe! Don't smack it!" Mephiles reached over and pulled the squirming Chao away. "Why don't you look for your sister so Shadow just has to go find Shu?"

"Chao Ch-Chao Chao Chao-Chao-Chao!"

"I don't know what you just said, but that better mean that you think that's a good idea."

"… Chao…"

"That's better."

"Where's Shadow?" Rouge said as she showed up.

"Looking for Shu." Mephiles grinned, fidgeting in place. "The egg is wobbling!"

"I see that. Was wondering if it was ever going to hatch…" She smiled, taking a spot on the couch to watch.

"Shadow needs to hurry up."

"_It's not going to hatch for another hour, I'm sure…_"

An hour and a half, to be precise. Shadow almost missed it by mere minutes, as he barely had enough time to finish prepping a mug of tea before he was grabbed by the arm and pulled into the living room with a shout of shock, frantically tilting the mug to keep the hot water from slopping into the floor.

It wasn't until he was pulled onto the couch to watch that he realized he didn't get to stick a tea bag into the cup, so he was left with just a cup of hot water. And no one was allowed to leave the room until the egg was finished hatching, so the cup was completely useless until then.

The shell cracked in one spot as a tiny knocking sound came from with egg, which rolled back and forth.

"Should I help or something..?"

"Nope. The Chao has to do this themselves." Shadow shook his head. "It's not as tough as it looks, really."

"He's been at it for while… Not very tough, is he..?" Shu said, leaning forward as he scooted away from the couch on the floor.

"No, that's normal."

"Cuz he's just rolling around…" Mephiles pointed.

"And you're just getting impatient."

"_This is kinda taking a while though…_"

"Would you all just wait a bit?"

"Shadow, they're kids."

"Still doesn't mean they can't just wait patiently."

"_I'm waiting patiently._"

"I think I see his paw!"

"Chao Chao!"

"Mew..?"

"Seriously, all of you calm down!" Shadow said loudly. "Geeze, even the cat?"

A cracking sound followed by a small **SNAP**, and the top of the shell broke open just enough for a little face to peek through.

"What color is he? Does he look the same? The eyes look different, like backwards colors."

"That's because all baby Chao have eyes like that when they hatch, even the reincarnated ones." Rouge explained, watching the small paws reach through and wave around before catching onto the outside edges of the shell and prying it apart carefully while trying to pull himself out. "Looks like he's lost his stripes."

"He's almost half the size of the twins!" Mephiles pointed out.

"_That's because he's a baby, obviously…_"

"Think he can still fly?" Shu added.

"_If not, he can still learn it again. I hear Chao keep some of their traits and abilities after reincarnating._"

"Oh, he's so small and cute!" Mephiles cooed, fingers curled and hands held up to his face in excitement. "His wings are like little pink butterfly wings! They're kinda shaped like hearts!"

"_It's like you've never seen a Neutral Baby Chao before…_"

"I haven't. The twins were already taking my traits by the time I saw them the first time."

"_Oh, right… I forgot…_"

"Looks like he's still kept some of his green for now…" Shu pointed to Kai. "See? He looks a bit black, but he's tinted green on his paws and the top of his head."

"His head's shaped like a little onion without the quill things."

Kai managed to flip the eggshell over while he was still half in it, causing him to tumble out face first onto the carpet. Blinking in confusion and looking around, he frowned slightly when he noticed that he was now shorter than his adopted Chao siblings. Then he snapped his eyes wider open and looked down at his paws, seeing that his striped pattern was no longer there. Apparently, he wasn't even aware that he had been in an egg to begin with and was just as surprised as everyone else was to see his new look.

Trying to vocalize, he managed to make only the coos and hums of baby sounds, and waved his paws around frantically.

"I guess he didn't realize he was reincarnating…" Mephiles cringed a bit at this.

Kai continued to make sounds, and crawled across the floor to the computer desk, sat up, pulled the printer paper drawer (which was closest to the floor) open to pull out some sheets, and crawled up on the drawer like a step and grabbed one of the markers out of the small pile of pens and writing tools.

Everyone watched in confusion as Kai slid back down to the floor, held the marker with his paws and feet, bit the cap to pull it off, carefully flipped it over without getting ink on anything and used both his paws to hold the marker to scribble something down.

**CHAO!** was written in thick black lines, filling up the entire sheet of paper.

"… I don't think any of us who aren't Chao understand that, little man." Shadow was the first to respond after the stunned silence.

"Chao…" Sharpe raised a paw as if to indicate he did, obviously, understand.

Krystal, however, seemed absolutely ecstatic about this, reflecting Mephiles' earlier behavior over Kai being a baby Chao now. She wrapped her arms around him and picked him up from the floor, chattering happily in Chao Speak her feelings about this, with Kai squirming as the tips of his rounded feet touched the floor, as Krystal's hold on him was somewhat awkward and not very secure.

_Oh, look at you! You're all small and now it's my turn to be the big Chao helping out the little Chao like you did with me before Sharpe and I evolved and-!_

_Sis! I think you're smothering him._

_… Oh. S-sorry about that…_ Krystal let go and Kai dropped to the carpet on his rump, looking up with a touch of annoyance, before huffing.

"Kinda reminds me of you already, Dark." Mephiles laughed a bit, reaching over to pick up the two halves of the egg shell. "… Probably should just get rid of these, since Krystal's kinda outgrown the need to wear one, and I don't think Kai will care."

"_… Very likely so…_" Dark agreed quietly, wondering to himself if this was such a good event after all, considering that a baby Chao needed quite a bit of attention to properly grow and evolve at a decent pace, and there wasn't even a guarantee that the Chao was going to like him now, and that could mean that Mephy's plan to include Dark in this would backfire-

Dark felt something bump against the back of his arm, and looking down for a moment, he saw that it couldn't be the cat curled up in his lap. He felt another soft bump, and he looked behind himself and saw that Kai had scooted across the floor over to him, looking up innocently with another babble.

The Chao smiled, and Dark hesitantly smiled back before realizing that all eyes were on him, and that stirred up a bit of social anxiety with him, as he didn't like being the center of attention.

Looking away awkwardly, his eyes rested on the reflective surface of the television's glass screen, acting like a dark mirror while shut off. And upon seeing his reflection, he couldn't see anything wrong at this moment about himself. All that stood out to him was that he was no longer alone, as he had what was very much considered a family that surrounded him, and that most importantly… He felt like he belonged.

Smiling even wider now, he picked up the Chao, handed him over to Mephiles, and caught both the young hedgehog and Shu with both arms around the shoulders and pulled them close enough to whisper, just so only they could hear: "_… We're home… We're finally home…_"


End file.
